Merry Christmas to All!

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

Military Ball 2010

Well, technically is was a "Christmas Party".  Nonetheless, it was mandatory and formal.  The whole sitting around and listening to people talk about how amazing they are doesn't ever thrill me.  But, it is fun to get all dressed up pretty and go out with my best guy.  I realized, though, how little I actually know about the Army.  They showed some skits the different units had put together and I so didn't get like any of them.  Oh well.  I definitely don't want to learn any more than I have to.  I don't think either AJ or myself will be too heartbroken when his contract is up.  The Army has it's pros, but as with everything, there are also cons.  Which list is longer?  That's a personal decision and every list is different.  Anyways, here's the pretty pictures.

Update!

Goodness!  I can't believe it's the middle of December already!  Well, let's go back in time for a moment and revisit Thanksgiving.  AJ, Joseph and I went up to Idaho the Friday before Thanksgiving, by way of Boise.  We got to spend a night with Kevin, Amy and Chloe.  Unfortunately, because we were so scatter-brained and hopping from here to there and everywhere, I didn't take many pictures.  We left Kevin and Amy's Saturday afternoon and went to Pocatello.

We stayed for a couples with AJ's brother, Richard and his wife.  It was good to catch up with them.  We also got to spend a couple of nights with our friends Ashley and Russ.  Joseph had such a good time playing with Colter!  It's so sad that we moved so far away from them!  Joseph and Colter were in cahoots the whole two days we were there.  We hadn't been there long when Colter lifted up the toilet lid and Joseph promptly threw a rubber duckie right in.  They made a good, mischievous team.  We really enjoyed getting to see them.  We didn't get to see all the family and friends we had planned while in Pocatello, but we did get to go to our old ward.  It was good to see some of the people that left footprints in our lives.

We went into Grace on Wednesday afternoon.  My parents and sisters got in a little later that day.  My aunt Sherry was there and we got to see Uncle Dana too.  We had Thanksgiving on Thursday at the church.  On Friday, we got to relax and spend some time hanging out with family.  Saturday morning was our McCurdy Christmas party.  Joseph got a cool toy that looks like the dashboard of a car with a steering wheel, gear shift lever, and other fun buttons to push.  It sings and plays animal noises, numbers and ABC's.  THANKS RYAN!  AJ got a cool tool set ("You can never have too many tools!" -AJ).  I got a fun cookbook and a super cute personalized tile.  Thanks Troy and Amy!  It was a lot of fun.

We left Saturday afternoon and headed to SLC.  We spent the next few days with AJ's sisters in American Fork and Pleasant Grove.  It was good to see them again.  We miss living close enough to take spontaneous trips down there.  Joseph and Ruby were fun to watch play together.  Boys and girls are soo different.  Ruby loved her dolls and Joseph threw them on the floor.  Ah, well.

Nap Time!!!

It was fun trip and we got to see a lot of family and friends, but we were glad to get back home.  Back to our bed, back to Joseph's crib, back to not living out of a suitcase, and back to not packing up our belongings every couple days.  It's amazing to vacation, but there's no place like home... where ever it may be.

One Last Ride

AJ and I got to go on a motorcycle ride last night! I so miss being able to do that more often. Life just gets so busy. Thanks to Mom for watching the little munchkin so we could go. We went up Mount Rose. I didn't know that there was yellow in Nevada! And even a little orange. We went all the way up to the summit before I was a little Krista popsicle. BRRR! AJ pointed out 38 degrees on the temperature gauge on our way back down. Sure made the low 50's feel good once we got back into town! We took a quick snack break and photo op at the summit.

Yup, we're still smitten!  =]

Picture Post

Here's Some Pictures... I know that's what you come for.  =

]

So, I'm not real sure what this post will be about... but I have that guilty feeling again, so here we go...

Well, AJ is getting a new job.  Kinda.  Sorta.  Not really.  It's the same job, just a different title.  But this one will have the tuition assistance, no cap on his hours (no overtime either, tho... lame), and benefits.  That will definitely be nice.  He spent the last weekend in September with the Army.  And then flew to San Diego the next Monday morning to meet up with my dad for a trip they are on for work.  He should be back sometime on Tuesday.

I have been spending a lot of time with WHWN and my favorite little boy.  Last week was a good week.  I got both of my giveaways mailed off and fulfilled quite the Etsy order.  Which was a good thing... cuz I pretty much already spent most of what I earned.  I'm gonna call it "investing".  Gotta have stuff to make more crafts... to sell... right?  And if they don't sell... that's too bad, guess I'll have to keep them all.  =]

Joseph is so silly.  He loves to play outside.  It's been cold and rainy (ok, not really cold, but not the 90+ degrees we were used to) the last day or two, but it's torture to keep this boy inside.  Today he went out and played in the mud... This kid was in HEAVEN!  Momma was less than pleased with the laundry she will have to do, but he was so cute and happy that I couldn't help but stand and watch him with a smile on my face.  I really do love being a momma.  Joseph also loves music and dancing.  My little sister Kaiti got Just Dance for the Wii for her birthday.  Joseph loves to dance with you.  Put a Wii remote in his hand and he can even hold his own... until he gets distracted by something else, anything else.  Everything else.  He's such a fun little boy.  Love him!

Wanna See....

The coolest date night ever!!!  Check this out!  And even get the chance to win one... Go on, take a look.

Quickly, Quickly

Not much to report, just feeling a little guilty that I post on WHWN (While He Was Napping) every day and not anything near that frequency over here on our family blog.  Although I definitely get more traffic on WHWN.  lol.  But it's a lot of hard work to get every single one of those visits.  Hopefully, Eventually, it will pay off. 

Anyways, AJ is prepping to leave tomorrow and spend the rest of the week in southern Nevada.  I really, really wish he didn't have to travel quite so much.  I keep waiting for the 'travel season' to slow down... but it's like every other week he's gone, if not a chunk of every week.  It's rough doing the "Joseph Routine" all by myself all the time.  Meh, enough pity party.  AJ has his first drill at the end of the month with the NVNG (Nevada National Guard).  We'll find out more then about what other Guard stuff he'll have to do.  AJ isn't going to school this semester.  Some things came up and it ended up not working out this time.  He didn't qualify for the tuition assistance we thought we would and he was getting out of state tuition price on top of that.  OUCH!  So, we decided to take the money that would've cost, get our own place first and then get him into school by next fall.  A bit of a wrinkle in the life blueprint.  But, whatcha gonna do?

Joseph is still growing... He is developing quite the vocabulary.  He isn't always (ok, hardly ever...) understandable, but he jabbers the day away.  He is developing quite the sense of humor.  He loves to tease.  He must get that from his daddy... =]  Today, we were riding in the car and I noticed he had a finger up his nose (don't even get me started on this one... ugh).  I told him to put it down and pulled his hand away from his face.  He just looked at me, stuck the finger right back where it was and then stuck the other index finger up the other nostril!  The little punk!  He was totally teasing and laughed so hard I couldn't even try to act stern when I told him that was "yuck".  His laugh is so infectious and contagious.  It's one of my most favorite sounds.

My days consist of trying to get my little business some lime light, face time, recognition, ect, ect, ect.  It's a lot of hard work and V E R Y slow going.  The business aspect, unfortunately, hasn't seen much progress yet... but it is getting out there more and more.  So maybe someday...............

However, if you want a super cool date night check out WHWN on Thursday.  You can even enter to win a neat giveaway.  Just FYI.

Sealing Anniversary

It's true that I will always be a February bride... Not the way I envisioned my wedding when I was little, but there was very little about my wedding that I had envisioned. In a way though, I was also a September bride. Last year we became an eternal family... The best kind of family. And sometimes I wanna be childless for just a moment and I get frustrated with my handsome Honey, but I am so grateful that they are mine, all mine. Forever. So, here's to my boys and the future family we may have, here is to forever. I love you!

Just a Quick Update

I feel like I've been blogging a ton!  Well, the truth is I have been, just not on this blog!  Hahaha.  I feel so bad for neglecting it, but in all honesty I really don't have anything great to blog about.  We've just been enjoying the summer and what time we have been able to spend together.

AJ is now officially a Nevada National Guardsman.  So, unfortunately he will have to start going to drills again.  At least they shouldn't be 4 and 5 days long like they were in Idaho.  He probably will have to do about a month's worth of training to get reclassified for this new unit, but it will hopefully be here in town.  We're still trying to figure out what's going on with AJ's school.  So, I guess that'll have to wait for another post.

Joseph is growing like a WEED.  He is getting SO big.  There are days that I look at him and think "Oh my goodness, he looks like a little person!  Where did my baby go?!?"  I know, he is a little person, but he doesn't just spend his days eating, sleeping and crying any more.  He loves to play outside!  He'd never come in if I didn't make him.  He loves the water.  We have been going down about once a week and playing in the river.  He is in HEAVEN!  He is always way sad when it's time to leave.

My life consists of snatching moments with my handsome hubby, chasing a crazy rambunctious little boy and working my way down that ever increasing to-do list.  It seems to get longer faster than I can cross things off, but I guess if it didn't it wouldn't be life.  AJ and I were called to be Primary workers and we teach the 8-going-on-9 year olds.  They are a lot of fun, although rambunctious some days, and I love it!  AJ misses Elder's Quorum though.  But, I'm glad we get to teach together.  We're slowly making some new friends, and as always, missing our old ones.  Hopefully, when the girls start back to school next week we can get into a little more routine and Joseph can learn to entertain himself a little bit more.  And we can have more play dates  =]  Yay.  Well, that about wraps up this update.  Til next time...    

Joseph's Birthday Party

We had Joseph's birthday party on Monday, August 2.  It was train themed.  It was a lot of fun.  We did a BBQ with some friends and had cake and ice cream.  It was pretty low-key, but still a lot of fun! Happy Birthday!  For more on Joseph's Birthday visit Joseph's blog and this blog.

Happy Birthday, Joseph!

I can't believe my baby is one already!  It's so weird to think that just 12 months ago he was this little tiny thing that took my breath away every time I realized how sweet, innocent and precious he was.  Now, he is an energetic, rambunctious, curious toddler.  He loves to explore!  He is developing quite the personality.  He loves to laugh and play.  He is so much fun!  I love being a mom.  Happy Birthday, my Sweet Boy!  I love you!

On Joseph's birthday, I decorated his crib while he napped.  We had his birthday party planned for Monday, but I still wanted him to know that it was a special day.  He loved it!  And, bonus, I think it helped him realized that the crib really isn't just a prison mommy puts him in when he needs to go to sleep.  Yay!

  

HAPPY 1ST BIRTHDAY, BUDDY!

I'm so shameless!

Check it out and tell your friends!  Go ahead and leave a comment... it'll make me feel loved.  Or don't.  But either way, you should at least GO CHECK IT OUT.  Come on!  There's a ton of links, just CLICK ONE.

www.whilehewasnapping.blogspot.com

Northern Idaho

Ok, so after we got back from Yellowstone, AJ, Joseph and I went into Pocatello for a few hours to see some of our friends.  That is probably what I miss the very most about Pocatello... my friends.  We hung out with Heather and Jeremiah for a bit and then we went to see Russ and Ashley.  We miss them.  All of them.

Anyway, then we went back into Grace.  Before we left for Pocatello we noticed that the van had a flat tire.  Great.  That's the car AJ, Joseph and I were taking to Northern Idaho.  So, Monday morning we went back into Pocatello, a donut tire on the van, to get it fixed.  We were hoping to be in to Les Schaub at 8:30am, when they opened.  Hmmm... it's 9am and there is still no one there.  "Closed for the Holiday".  What?  July 5th isn't a holiday...!?!  I do miss the LDS community, but it can make life a little more difficult sometimes.  So, we went over to Wal-Mart.  Turns out the tire that Les Schaub said they put on wasn't actually the tire they did put on.  And Wal-Mart didn't have that tire in stock.  Nor were they about to put a different size tire on.  So, then we looked into just buying the tire and putting it on ourselves.  Nope.

Then we went to McDonald's for breakfast... because dealing with people's crap makes you hungry!  So does not eating breakfast, but who's keeping track?  AJ made a few phone calls.  And COSTCO became our HEROES FOR THE DAY.  We bought the tire.  AJ and my dad put it on.  The guy at the tire center even tightened all the lug nuts for us.  Costco Tire Center Guy = STUD!  Finally between noon and 1pm (4 hours later than we'd hoped) we were finally moving northward.  It was LOTS of driving but we finally got there about 7pm.  We ate dinner, hung out with AJ's family and then bedded down for the night.  Whew!  What a stressful day. 

Now, here's the good part, the pictures!:

Playing in the clovers.  

 

I was a little worried that Joseph would start talking to the clovers, thinking there was a little Who world on them.  We watched Horton Hears A Who a few times on the way up.  But, he tried to eat one so I figured that was a good sign, at least as far as the Whos were concerned.

It was SOO hot.  Joseph cooling off.

Joseph in bed.

Playing at the Sandpoint Beach with Daddy

Hiking to Coppercreek Falls.  Wish I could've hitched a ride.

Dad and Joseph at Coppercreek Falls

Mommy and Joseph at Coppercreek Falls

Hurry dad!  The water is spraying us!

Driving Grandpa's newest airplane... uhm, I mean flying.

 We also got to stop in the Boise area and visit Kevin and Amy.  They have recently moved back from Alabama where Kevin was training to fly Black hawk Helicopters for the Army. It was good to get to see them again... and an interesting day that ensued, but ended happily with games and a cranberry slush.