The adventures of Riann

Here are some fun shots of Riann's most recent adventures. She's an busy little tike!!!

She's learning to climb. This is the first time she got on top of something and yes she did it all on her own!!!

Getting stuck in all of her stuff.

"Crawling" through the tunnel.

Uh'Oh!!! She got caught by the camera!!!

Peek-a-boo... One of  her new favorite games.

Cheese!!!! And papa's toes... She loves those!!!

FINALLY someone said it!!!!

"If you don't vote, you're a moron"

Clip from CBS via YouTube.com, "The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson" Aired 9/10/09

"Do me the honor of being my fellow Americans and vote"

Clip from CBS via YouTube.com, "The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson" Aired 9/10/09

Paul and I have been struggling lately with the coverage of the presidential election. We've felt like we've been watching nothing other than the next installment of High School Musical - The Student Body Election. It's been frustrating because we understand how serious the position of the president is and we are counting on the media to give us the best information possible because they are supposed to help us all make informed decisions on who would best fill that seat. However, they are too busy pointing out who said what and what it supposedly meant by their comment. They did it in the primaries with the various supporters and religious leaders for all who were running and now they are doing it with both of our candidates. For starters IT'S NOT IMPORTANT!!! Second... only the person who said it is able to tell us what it was intended to mean and we have to get over the "secret" intended meanings because once again... IT'S NOT IMPORTANT!!!! We have asked those people what they meant by it, they have given us their reasoning, and even if we don't agree we can't keep taking it for anything more than face value. Lets get to what IS IMPORTANT... The fact that we have less than 2 months to make a decision that effects everyone's future and we don't even know what these people stand for!!!

Right now I see this.... We don't have one candidate that has enough experience to run this country. That's what I honestly believe. We have two people who have great ideas and the determination to fill those shoes but NO ONE is telling us how they'd do it. I think McCain is a great guy. He sacrificed a great deal in the name of our country but that doesn't qualify him automatically to lead our nation. It gives him great insight on how to handle the war but the war is only half the experience needed to be our leader. Obama is also a good guy. He's got some plans that just might work but some that just don't fit right. He is new and he might be able to bring a fresh perspective to the White House but I don't feel like he's going to be great at listening to what the people want and that doesn't make him a great candidate to stand as a spokes person to our nation.

I feel that this election is important because I don't feel strongly towards one side or the other right now and I don't feel many other Americans do either. When Kerry ran against Bush in our last election I had a strong impression on which candidate was going to run this nation the way God intended it to be ran. We have been given this land as a gift as long as we are a righteous people and the freedoms we hold because of that righteousness should never be taken for granted. I felt that if one of those two men were to become president we surely would have seen the start of the second coming. I'm so torn because I don't see the black and white with these new candidates and I want to learn more. I want to learn about their platforms. I want to know about their ideas. I want to know what kind of choices I can expect them to make for me and for my children. BUT... so far I haven't heard any of that!!!! All we've been told is that "Obama doesn't have enough experience" and "McCain is more of the same".

Right now the only thing that is leaning my vote one way or the other is the fact that there are 2 open seats to be filled by the next president on the supreme court and those seats will determine things like laws on abortion and gay rights. I'm only tempted to vote one way or the other because I want those seats filled by people who hold and value similar beliefs.

I'm a fan of Craig Freguson because I find his humor enjoyable. He's not for everyone but when he speaks about being a citizen of the US he speaks from his heart. He is so proud to have recently received citizenship into our great country and you can see how important it is to him whenever he mentions it on his show. It seems almost sacred to him. Why isn't that we don't value that blessing just as much?! Is it because we haven't had to apply for it? Or know what it's like to not have it? That's not good enough!!! I'm so proud to be an American. I'm proud to know that I can write this message here for others to read and not have to worry about the repercussions. I'm so sad however that my right to do this is being paid for by brave men and women - AND their families - over seas fighting for me and so many others. There as so many who have died for me and for you and we seem to forget how important that is. God died so man might be and right now thousands of soldiers are prepared to give a similar sacrifice to help this country remain free. Listen to these videos with pride and understand that what we have here should NEVER EVER be taken for granted. We need to expect more from our media and even more from our leaders.

Let us honor our sacred duty and never forget what its taken to be blessed with the freedoms we have today!!!

Okay... here it goes...

So here's my attempt at updating on what's been happening in life the last little bit. I don't know why but I go through these spits where I have a ton of motivation and then into long stretches where I just have none. I guess this is why I don't do well with journals. I'm going to have to break this up in to 2 or 3 different posts because we've actually done a LOT recently. I don't think we did one really interesting thing all summer and just these last few weeks alone we've been more busy than we've been since the baby was born. I think I'm also going to have to work backwards on a lot of this because I don't have all of my pictures on my computer just yet and I know if I wait to get those on it will be next year before I write this post!!! 

So this last week is where I'm going to start. WE HAVE OUR WINDOWS IN!!!! I'm soooo excited!!! We have had a lot of company in town this late month and the last to arrive was Paul's parents. They came into town to bring Paul's sister Amie back to school. They decided to stay a full week to help us put in the window we purchased in April. We've had them since then but we haven't been able to put some time together to get them in because of work, finances, and life. With the holiday that gave us some extra time to get things together and really work hard. Unfortunately Monday, the actual holiday, the worst day of the week and we couldn't get any work done. It was pretty lame. But Paul and his dad made up for lost time and buckled down and got a ton of work done Tuesday while I was at work. Our first glitch came Wednesday when Paul had to get his wisdom teeth out. He's been having problems with one of them for the greater part of last month and so we had to schedule to get them out as soon as possible. Unfortunately it needed to be done the same week all of this was happening. It was a blessing that they were in town because I was having a hard time getting time off from work and so it was great to have family here that could help Paul take care of the baby while he was down. He's still not feeling that great but is slowly making improvements each day. I hope he's feeling much better tomorrow because it's going to just be him and the little one and I don't know how he's going to do if he's still in as much pain as he has been. 

So Wednesday we get his teeth out and get him back to bed and work on the windows. Being a man down it kind of slowed the work but Thursday I ended up staying home to help take care of Paul and do what I could around the house. We made some progress but it was a little slow because there was still a lot going on with trying to get everything else settled. We still had to move Amie in and get her all set up for classes. Friday I had to be back at work so everyone was here helping at the house. Paul wasn't able to do a ton of work but he did get some painting in when he was feeling up to it. By Friday we finally had all of the old windows out and frames and the new windows in as snug as possible. Saturday we spent the rest of our time together finalizing the setup and getting everything put back together. 

The front of the house looks totally different and it's a little weird to think it's all done. It is such a relief to have all of the nasty bug infested windows out of the house. It's been a worry of mine to have the baby around some of the old disgusting things the house had before we moved in here. The carpet was a big thing but the windows really worried me. Now we don't have to worry about leaking air in or out and we don't have the extra critters roaming around the house. It's amazing!!! We can even open our windows now and cool down on hot days!!! It's wonderful!!! 

Now it's time to move onto the next project.... Goodness it never ends!!! Here are some pictures of the process...

This is the window in the living room. Dave and Paul got this in Tuesday. It was so great to have all of them here because with just my help this window would have been near impossible!!
This is the window in our bedroom from the inside. It was so weird to have a gaping hole in our wall it is was amazing to see how dingy the view from inside was. The new windows are so clear they look just like this with a white boarder. It's amazing how different it all is!!
Here's Dave in front of the hole on the outside. He did so much work. I can't believe how blessed we are to have such a wonderful family!!!

This is the back of the house... I don't have any finished pictures yet. I need to go get some a soon as we do the final touch ups with paint and everything.
This is the only before picture I could find. We took this the summer we moved in. I think it was August of 2006. It's a MUCH different place now. I need to get some from the same angle but here is what it kind of looks like now...
It's' all so different!!! I think we're going to paint next year but don't they look GREAT!!! We love all of the changes. It's so nice to have those pesky trees out of the way!!! 

It's so great to finally see things happen here on the house. We're hoping to get enough saved up here soon to get more done on the inside. We're getting close. We still have a lot to do but we're getting there. It's going to be fun to see all of the changes when it's complete. 

If you want to see what we've actually done so far with the whole house, check out these facebook albums. They've got pictures of it all!!! Inside and out!!!

The Window Project

Carpet, Kitchen and Fireplace Project 

Carpet, Kitchen and Fireplace Project #2

Backyard Project

I'm sorry!!!!

I'm going to update soon... Hopefully tomorrow... We just had a ton of family in and out of town this last month so I have TONS to write about!!! I'll try to show you all what's been going on around here. Live has been crazy but I've loved every moment of it!!!

Can't wait to get a new post up!!!

Riann helping Papa in the garage

Paul likes to have Riann help in the garage when he works on the card. He was out there the other day and had her in the stroller while he worked. This is the one "toy" she has that doesn't have any toys attached directly to it so she had to find other ways to amuse herself while she was sitting there. This was taken on Paul's phone so the quality isn't the best... Hope you guys enjoy!!!!



We get such a kick out of her!!!!!

We're officially dorks... :-/

- Photo from www.amazon.com.

So yesterday a girl that Paul used to work with called him up and asked if we were going to go pick up the 4th Twilight book. Paul said we didn't know because we had just planned on borrowing one from one of our many friends, who are also obsessed with the series, was done reading there's. It had been a topic of conversation with a few people at work and when it first started to come up the only location in the area that was handing out the book at midnight was Barnes & Noble in Idaho Falls. We really didn't want to drive 30 minute at 11pm for a book that cost $25 when we could just borrow later for free. Well the more people talked about it we learned that the book was going to be released here at our local Walmart... AND it was only $13 something. We still weren't really into the whole idea of waiting in line and "camping out" for the book. I had told Paul earlier in the week that I wanted to wait until the whole series was complete and we knew nothing else would be coming out to buy it because I wanted all the books to match, so with that in mind we decided we'd wait.

Well... We had just gotten the baby all bathed and ready for bed and we were hanging out together in our room thinking about things to do together and it kept nagging at me... "Walmart isn't THAT far... and the book IS going to be cheaper..." Finally I brought it up to Paul to see what he thought. At first he was just a leery as I was going and sitting in line and risking the fact that the book might sell out before we got to buy it and it wasn't going to be easy waiting in line with a baby who really should have been in bed. But the more we started talking about it them more we realized that we just wanted to get through the series and just have it be done!!! So with out really thinking about it we packed the baby up and jetted out the door.

We got there about 11:45 and the line was getting pretty long. We went searching for Paul's friend and she was pretty close to the front. We didn't want to go all the way to the back so we stood there and talked for a bit and no one seemed to give us dirty looks so we just decided to stay. Employees from the story came out and 5'til and handed out cookie to everyone in line and finally at 12am the doors opened. People started rushing in and it seemed like it wasn't going to be that bad. They had 2 registers open at the customer service desk and they tried their hardest to keep people out of the rest of the store. I think when they realized how long the line was they told people that they could grab a book and go over to the main registers to get out faster. At this point it started to get chaotic. People started grabbing books and running for the check out stand. To keep everyone out of the store they had created a barrier of carts to direct traffic. Once people found out that they could "speed up" the process they started pushing carts out of the way trying to make a mad dash to be first inline on the other side.

We waited where we were and Paul got up front to grab and pay for a book. I hung back because I was afraid of getting shoved around with the baby. It took Paul maybe 5 minutes tops to get our book while everyone who thought they'd get through faster by going to a different line got stuck in heavier "traffic".

Needless to say there are a few "opening day" events I've been to and I'm glad I got a chance to experience this but I can't believe the lengths some fans will go to to be the first at something.

So far Paul once again started the book before I could so I need to let him get into it a bit before I start. I am looking forward to getting to it though. It was a fun night and I'm glad Paul's so willing to experience it with me. It was really fun being out with him and Riann and I really did have a good time.

I hope it's as good of a read as the other ones were!!!!

Update... I had to do it in 2 posts to keep reading when it looks like it's all done!!!

So over the last few weeks we've been up to a lot. Paul just finished one of his first jobs with the business making some fliers for his dad's and brother's new company. He did a great job and it was fun watching him put his creative talents to work. He spent a lot of time learning some new programs too so I know he's really put a lot of effort into to getting everything off the ground. He's really working hard.

I've been picking up extra hours at work, working 10 hour days. Our company just expanded our production to take on another wedding line and because our plant had the space to take on the extra orders they transitioned everything here to Idaho. With the move they've been asking people to work as much as possible so I've picked up time so I can help out there and here at the house. I really hope it's worth it.

Riann has been doing great!!! She is now eating solid food about once or twice a day. She's a hoot!!! It's hard to feed her because she's already eager to hold her own spoon. We have a really hard time getting the food to her mouth because it's typically knocked off by the time we get it there. If one of us is feeding her we have to hold down one hand and try to bypass the reach on her other. It's a process but we're learning to get by just like she is. She's been getting TONS better at rolling onto her tummy and she's even been getting a little better at getting back to her back. We still don't think she does it on purpose but it's becoming more frequent so I'm wondering if she's about there. Paul also says she's even been working on getting up to her knees so we might have a crawler before we have a real head of real hair and a few teeth... Not that I'm hoping for her to become that active anytime soon. I want her to stay my baby for a little longer. She's been growing so fast it's amazing to see the changes even each day when I get home from work. I thought I would add some pictures and video of the fun things she's been up to lately. I've finally got the patients to wait for a video to load so I hope this works!!!

This is her newer trick where she "blows bubbles". Most of the time she just drools EVERYWHERE and makes a mess but she got some good ones in this day. I love the shape her mouth makes!!!



Here are a few pictures of us all just hanging out as well...

She had just gotten her 4 month shots. She did really good this time and she got matching band-aids. We were both really proud of her!!!

She some how always manages to cover her self up completely while she sleeps. We came in the other day and this was all we could see of her. Often it wakes her up and she has a certain grunt/cry that we know by heart so we know when she's frustrated and can't seem to get the blanket off of her face.

She loves this toy... Yes, she has a favorite toy already. His name is Alex and I think they secretly talk to each other. He has to be with her everywhere we go. He hangs off of her car seat and she plays with him ALL the time!!!

Riann and Dad making faces at the camera. I can't tell who's having more fun here... I love them both so much!!!

This is the story of my life... all in one photo. I've got a husband who works very hard and deserves all the rest he can get, a baby who likes to play when everyone else wants to sleep, and a cat who's trying to take my place as the woman of the house. I was getting ready for work the other day and when I came into say goodbye this is what my bed looked like. These guys make me happy!!!




Keep reading for more pictures and a video of Riann's adventures with cereal!!!!