Paul got accepted back into school!!! Here are the key points from his acceptance letter...
"Congratulations! We are pleased to offer you admission to Brigham Young University-Idaho. We look forward to having you on campus and feel that you will be an asset to this university."
Yada... yada... yada....
"Once again, congratulations on your acceptance to BYU-Idaho! Rich blessings and life-changing opportunities await you here.
Sincerely,
Admissions Committee
Brigham Young University-Idaho Admissions Office"
I've been a little stressed the last year because he kept telling me he was going to get his application in but never mentioned when he was going to do it, just that he'd "take care of it"... Well he started the process without telling me and we recently finished up the last few steps. We found out the day after our final piece was submitted that he had to petition one step in the process and I was a little worried that we wouldn't make the deadline but he got everything done on Thursday and the day he submitted his petition (Friday) they emailed him to tell him they had dropped all of his holds and two days later (Today, it could have been sooner but we didn't check until today) we got this email!!!
I'm so excited for him!! The next year or two is going to be even more busy and probably stressful than this last year but I'm so proud he's getting on to what he wants to do next!!!
Just thought I'd share the good news!!! Have a FANTASTIC night!!!
Sunday, September 27, 2009
Sunday, August 30, 2009
Crater's of the Moon
SORRY!!! I'm so sorry for not posting in a while. There's been some drama recently with my blog and I just got it all sorted out. I deleted an email account that I didn't know was linked to my blog and by doing that I deleted the entire blog... Well Paul saved my life after I cried for about an hour and got my blog back up and running but in the process I had reestablish that email address and reset my password. Paul being the super sneaky person that he is, reset my password to something I couldn't figure out and something he couldn't remember so I haven't been able to get on... But now we've gotten everything figured out and know I know what my password is and I'll try to do my best at getting back to this on a regular basis!!!
The sad thing is not to much has happened since I last posted. I figured instead of trying to recap everything that's happened over the last 2 months I'd just start with our AMAZING adventure from today. I'll try not to post too many pictures but I had so much fun!!! Riann is really turning into a sweet girl. We've recently dealt with a lot of temper tantrums and "life ending" fits that I've been really afraid for what was coming over the next year. However for the most part she seems to be getting past most of it and is really a LOT of fun to hang out with. I hope it stay this way and that it doesn't get any worse when she gets closer to 2. This better not be the calm before the storm!!!
Well today we decided to go on adventure. I was having a really rough day and just wanted to disappear. Paul was trying to get Riann down for a nap and I barged into the room and told him we needed to go for a car ride. This is something we used to do quite a bit and so it seemed like a great idea for the weekend I had been having. Paul not being one to say no to anything involving cars picked up Riann and walked straight to the door. In about 10 minutes we had a little bit of food, a few jackets, and we were off. We weren't sure where we were going at first but Paul checked out the map and decided that Crater's of the Moon looked like fun. We hadn't been there before and we both REALLY wanted to do a trip out there so we decided that today was the day.
It took us about 2 hours to get out there... not the amount of time we thought it would take, we thought we were only about an hour away but I guess were about 2... we pulled in and we were pretty surprised right off. I was always told that it was just a bunch of Craters that were made from old volcano's that had erupted and fell apart hundreds of years ago so I didn't expect to be blown away by anything too amazing. As you come into the park everything goes from sagebrush to black lava. The whole ground is the beautiful black rock that just winds in every direction you can see. As we got further into the park we started to realize this wasn't anything like what we had been told. Now if your not really a nature person you may not appreciate how beautiful it really was. To most it's probably just a ton of lava, but if you really get to look at it and see what it's like and take the time to image how it all got there, everything that was created was pretty amazing.
At our first stop we started on a short hike through a small lava field but moved on quickly because there were some pretty nasty clouds coming in. On our way to our next stop we decided we weren't going to rush through the park because of rain and so we got out and really started to look around. Our next stop was a cone that we were allowed to hike up. I think the sign said it was about a 68% incline and it was about .5 miles long. We had forgotten to grab Riann's stroller so we were a little worried about how much she would want to really get out and hike but we started up and she followed. We had to carry her a few times because the paths were too narrow or the hills were too steep or rocky but she was amazing!!! She trucked along everywhere we went and we didn't have to decide to not do anything because she was with us. She was so happy to be there and she seemed to love every minute of it just as much as we did.
Fast-forwarding a lot... We hiked around a few more places and came up to some caves that were in the park towards the end. We were all getting tired and there was only one cave out of the 5 were were equipped to go through so we hiked straight over to it. We hadn't seen any rain until just the very end so we figured it was fine to keep going. We came up on the tunnel and climbed right in. It was pretty rocky but Riann was really patient with all of the carrying and passing off we had to do and we had a blast exploring. While we were in the tunnel there were lots of pigeons that kept flying out of their holes and it kept spooking us. We weren't sure where we were going and at times they sounded like bats so we were a little on edge. Once we finally got to the end of the tunnel and had to hike over the lava fields and back to the car. About this time it really started to rain and we even had some thunder clouds come in over us. We decided because we were pretty much the tallest things out in the middle of the lava fields we had better book it back. We got back to the car just in time and got out of the rain. On the way home we got to see some of the most amazing lightening we've seen out here so far. Our battery was dead on the camera or else I'd have pictures of that too.
I have a TON of pictures but most of them need to be compiled into panoramic shots. As soon as Paul has those together I'll put them up but for now here are a few shots of our adventure. It was soooo much fun!!! I'm so glad we got to spend today together. I have one of the most amazing families and every moment I get with them is absolutely wonderful!!! I love them both sooo much and I'm so grateful for the memories I get to create with them every single day!!!
This is one of the first things you see as you come into the park. It's just a black mass of lava and whatever vegetation can survive out there. There were a few chipmunks but they were too fast and too small to catch with the camera.
Just one of the lava mounds around the first places we stopped.
Paul and Riann walking up the steep cone. At the top it was amazing!! There isn't anything growing anywhere on this thing until you get to the top. There are a few trees and a lot of brush. Up there you also get a great view of the valley and the rest of the main stops in the park. I got some great pictures from up here and can't wait for Paul to get them set up.
It was super windy at the top so we had Riann "fly" down the hill side. We're going to cut Paul out of the picture and see what it looks like...
Paul and Riann at our second stop. This was at the top of another lava cone. The center of this was all hallowed out and there was still snow at the very bottom from last winter.
One of the small caves on the way to the main tunnel/cave we got to hike through.
The road into the caves. You can tell we were getting bad weather on the way in...
The road out of the caves. It cleared up a little at the end giving us just enough time to get out dry.
Inside the cave. I think this might be this year's Christmas card picture!!!
One last shot before we had to get moving through the cave.
Riann our little hiker. She did a great job!!!
The sad thing is not to much has happened since I last posted. I figured instead of trying to recap everything that's happened over the last 2 months I'd just start with our AMAZING adventure from today. I'll try not to post too many pictures but I had so much fun!!! Riann is really turning into a sweet girl. We've recently dealt with a lot of temper tantrums and "life ending" fits that I've been really afraid for what was coming over the next year. However for the most part she seems to be getting past most of it and is really a LOT of fun to hang out with. I hope it stay this way and that it doesn't get any worse when she gets closer to 2. This better not be the calm before the storm!!!
Well today we decided to go on adventure. I was having a really rough day and just wanted to disappear. Paul was trying to get Riann down for a nap and I barged into the room and told him we needed to go for a car ride. This is something we used to do quite a bit and so it seemed like a great idea for the weekend I had been having. Paul not being one to say no to anything involving cars picked up Riann and walked straight to the door. In about 10 minutes we had a little bit of food, a few jackets, and we were off. We weren't sure where we were going at first but Paul checked out the map and decided that Crater's of the Moon looked like fun. We hadn't been there before and we both REALLY wanted to do a trip out there so we decided that today was the day.
It took us about 2 hours to get out there... not the amount of time we thought it would take, we thought we were only about an hour away but I guess were about 2... we pulled in and we were pretty surprised right off. I was always told that it was just a bunch of Craters that were made from old volcano's that had erupted and fell apart hundreds of years ago so I didn't expect to be blown away by anything too amazing. As you come into the park everything goes from sagebrush to black lava. The whole ground is the beautiful black rock that just winds in every direction you can see. As we got further into the park we started to realize this wasn't anything like what we had been told. Now if your not really a nature person you may not appreciate how beautiful it really was. To most it's probably just a ton of lava, but if you really get to look at it and see what it's like and take the time to image how it all got there, everything that was created was pretty amazing.
At our first stop we started on a short hike through a small lava field but moved on quickly because there were some pretty nasty clouds coming in. On our way to our next stop we decided we weren't going to rush through the park because of rain and so we got out and really started to look around. Our next stop was a cone that we were allowed to hike up. I think the sign said it was about a 68% incline and it was about .5 miles long. We had forgotten to grab Riann's stroller so we were a little worried about how much she would want to really get out and hike but we started up and she followed. We had to carry her a few times because the paths were too narrow or the hills were too steep or rocky but she was amazing!!! She trucked along everywhere we went and we didn't have to decide to not do anything because she was with us. She was so happy to be there and she seemed to love every minute of it just as much as we did.
Fast-forwarding a lot... We hiked around a few more places and came up to some caves that were in the park towards the end. We were all getting tired and there was only one cave out of the 5 were were equipped to go through so we hiked straight over to it. We hadn't seen any rain until just the very end so we figured it was fine to keep going. We came up on the tunnel and climbed right in. It was pretty rocky but Riann was really patient with all of the carrying and passing off we had to do and we had a blast exploring. While we were in the tunnel there were lots of pigeons that kept flying out of their holes and it kept spooking us. We weren't sure where we were going and at times they sounded like bats so we were a little on edge. Once we finally got to the end of the tunnel and had to hike over the lava fields and back to the car. About this time it really started to rain and we even had some thunder clouds come in over us. We decided because we were pretty much the tallest things out in the middle of the lava fields we had better book it back. We got back to the car just in time and got out of the rain. On the way home we got to see some of the most amazing lightening we've seen out here so far. Our battery was dead on the camera or else I'd have pictures of that too.
I have a TON of pictures but most of them need to be compiled into panoramic shots. As soon as Paul has those together I'll put them up but for now here are a few shots of our adventure. It was soooo much fun!!! I'm so glad we got to spend today together. I have one of the most amazing families and every moment I get with them is absolutely wonderful!!! I love them both sooo much and I'm so grateful for the memories I get to create with them every single day!!!
This is one of the first things you see as you come into the park. It's just a black mass of lava and whatever vegetation can survive out there. There were a few chipmunks but they were too fast and too small to catch with the camera.
Just one of the lava mounds around the first places we stopped.
Paul and Riann walking up the steep cone. At the top it was amazing!! There isn't anything growing anywhere on this thing until you get to the top. There are a few trees and a lot of brush. Up there you also get a great view of the valley and the rest of the main stops in the park. I got some great pictures from up here and can't wait for Paul to get them set up.
It was super windy at the top so we had Riann "fly" down the hill side. We're going to cut Paul out of the picture and see what it looks like...
Paul and Riann at our second stop. This was at the top of another lava cone. The center of this was all hallowed out and there was still snow at the very bottom from last winter.
One of the small caves on the way to the main tunnel/cave we got to hike through.
The road into the caves. You can tell we were getting bad weather on the way in...
The road out of the caves. It cleared up a little at the end giving us just enough time to get out dry.
Inside the cave. I think this might be this year's Christmas card picture!!!
One last shot before we had to get moving through the cave.
Riann our little hiker. She did a great job!!!Thursday, June 18, 2009
My NEW Gym!!!!
So Paul finally let me have a little space at the "top" of our garage to make a gym out of. I have to say I LOVE it!!!! Here are a few shots of what it really looks like!!!
This is the view coming in from the house.
Here is the TV... not yet hooked up...
The new elliptical with my nasty sweat band...
The weight stand. This is going to improve when we can spend more money on more weights...
Paul's punching bag and the view from the back of the garage...
Riann woke up from her nap and wanted to help clean...
She just HAD to sweep the floor!!!
She's pretty excited about the new gym too!!!
This is the main layout. We have a TV which I will be adding a DVD player to and my work out video's will be going in the blue stand underneath it. There is the elliptical we just got for $80 on Craigslist. LOVE that site!!! I have a weight "stand" over nex to the TV where my hand weights, Paul's perfect pushups,a kettlebell, and a basketball (that is suppose to resemble a medicine ball) sit, Paul's punching bag, a chair for squats and resting, and our scale. We even had the PERFECT amount and shapes of carpet to lay down so that I don't have to sit on the actual garage floor. It's so wonderful!!!
This is the view coming in from the house.
Here is the TV... not yet hooked up...
The new elliptical with my nasty sweat band...
The weight stand. This is going to improve when we can spend more money on more weights...
Paul's punching bag and the view from the back of the garage...
Riann woke up from her nap and wanted to help clean...
She just HAD to sweep the floor!!!
She's pretty excited about the new gym too!!!
The sad thing is I haven't been able to use it too much yet because my schedule has been pretty crazy but it's fun to have a place to look forward to. I can't wait to really get working out there. I just need a treadmill now and maybe a step to do stair stepper videos and it would be PERFECT!!!! Now if only I could find REAL time to get my butt in gear and get out and use it!!! I'm hoping to be down 20-30 pounds by the end of the year and maybe I'll really be able to push through and be 60-80 pounds down by this time next year!!! That would be AMAZING!!!!
Sunday, March 29, 2009
Happy Birthday to RIANN!!!!
Wow I can't believe it's actually been a whole year. Its taken me a bit to find time to get these up but I'm glad I can finally sit down and do it. My little baby is growing up into a girl!!! It's amazing how fast time has gone by. It's been so much fun!!! Last night Paul and I sat back and looked at pictures of her the first week and it's amazing that she has grown so much. She changes each and every day and is so much more amazing as time goes by!!! I'm so excited to see what comes. I can only imagine what she'll be like when she's 16 and again when she's 25, 30. She'll grow up to be someone very special and I can't wait to watch it all unfold before my eyes!!!
We love you baby girl!!!! So much!!! Happy Birthday!!!!
We love you baby girl!!!! So much!!! Happy Birthday!!!!
Thursday, February 26, 2009
My Angel!!!
I don't think they were talking about the candy when they called it
"Fun Dip".
"Fun Dip".
These are her new angry eyebrows... any time we say "Don't give me 'tude!!" This is what we get.
Riding around with Papa!!! She's getting REALLY good at hanging on for piggyback rides. The other day I was working out and she wanted to be held so I threw her on my back and started doing squats!!!
Definitely breaking the rules... There are VERY few places she can't climb on her own these days.
Just hanging out!!!
She's already trying to sneak out of the house.....
LOVES talking on the phone!!!
Can't get enough of the good stuff!!!
Hates just having to sit around....
She's wonderful!!!!
Thursday, February 12, 2009
Sorry to keep you waiting... The photo has been submitted!!!!
We got the photo in Thursday afternoon and we chose photo #7. I cropped it a little tighter because she was mid diaper change and I didn't want someone to notice that. You can still kind of tell her shirts pulled up but I think it's okay. Here's how we submitted it.
I really liked it but didn't know if others would too. I'm really glad you all helped us pick!!! You're all AMAZING!!!!
Here's what we're waiting for. This is from the website... "The ten (10) semi-finalists pictures will appear on LIVE and on LIVE’s website on or about the week of March 9, 2009. Viewers will have the chance to vote on-line for five (5) of the ten (10) semi-finalists. Only one (1) entry will be accepted per registered e-mail address. The Viewers will be told on air when the on-line voting will begin and end. The five (5) finalists receiving the most individual votes will be invited to appear on the program."
I still think it's a long shot that we'll hear back but I'll keep you all posted either on Facebook, by email, or on this thing. I think they said that they'll start notifying the contestants by about March 2. We'll see what happens. If we do get lucky and are picked I'll need ALL of your help again spreading the word about voting. We'll see how it goes... I think it would be a blast!!!
Thanks again for all of your help!!! Keep you fingers crossed!!!!
- Cheris
I really liked it but didn't know if others would too. I'm really glad you all helped us pick!!! You're all AMAZING!!!!
Here's what we're waiting for. This is from the website... "The ten (10) semi-finalists pictures will appear on LIVE and on LIVE’s website on or about the week of March 9, 2009. Viewers will have the chance to vote on-line for five (5) of the ten (10) semi-finalists. Only one (1) entry will be accepted per registered e-mail address. The Viewers will be told on air when the on-line voting will begin and end. The five (5) finalists receiving the most individual votes will be invited to appear on the program."
I still think it's a long shot that we'll hear back but I'll keep you all posted either on Facebook, by email, or on this thing. I think they said that they'll start notifying the contestants by about March 2. We'll see what happens. If we do get lucky and are picked I'll need ALL of your help again spreading the word about voting. We'll see how it goes... I think it would be a blast!!!
Thanks again for all of your help!!! Keep you fingers crossed!!!!
- Cheris
Tuesday, February 10, 2009
I need your help!!!!
So I'm going to be putting Riann in the "Regis and Kelly Live" cutest baby contest. I've been waiting to do this for about a year now. She was too young to enter last year. We have to put in her entry my 5 pm Friday and I need help. I've think it would be really cool to do because well.... like most mothers I think I have the most BEAUTIFUL baby in the world AND the grand prize is the chance to appear on the cover of Parenting Early Years & win $125,000 towards a college scholarship. The runner up prizes are an additional $100,000 will be divided amongst the 4 runners-up, to be used toward a college education, And, all 10 of the semi-finalists will be awarded a year's supply of Gerber products. Can't say and of that wouldn't help. I know it's a long shot because there are going to be SOOOO many babies but I want to give it a try. It never hurts to put in the effort right?!
So here's the delema... I don't know what photo to submit. The rules are that the photo has to be taken with in the last month and must not be from a professional. That kind of limits us to photos because we haven't taken many since we've been home from our trip to WA for Christmas. We REALLY want to showcase Riann's eyes but once again that limits the pictures we can use. I was hoping if I put a few that we are thinking about on here you guys can tell us which you like best... so here it goes.
Let me know!!!
So here's the delema... I don't know what photo to submit. The rules are that the photo has to be taken with in the last month and must not be from a professional. That kind of limits us to photos because we haven't taken many since we've been home from our trip to WA for Christmas. We REALLY want to showcase Riann's eyes but once again that limits the pictures we can use. I was hoping if I put a few that we are thinking about on here you guys can tell us which you like best... so here it goes.
Let me know!!!
Picture #1:
Picture #2:
Picture #3:
Picture #4:
Picture #6:
Picture #7:
Picture #8:
Picture #9:
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)