Happy Travels

So happy to be back in Idaho! Tom, Emmitt, and I had a really fun time in Oklahoma, but there's just something about being back where you came from. Tom finished up his internship and we're very grateful for the opportunity we had to be down in OKC for 3 months. Since we've been back, he's passed his written test and his practical, so he's an official paramedic! So proud of him!

The drive back from Oklahoma was so fun. Since we were as far out east as we've ever been, we decided to go up to Jessica and Eric's (Jessica is Tom's sister) for the week of Thanksgiving. They were so kind to us, and since I'd only met Jessica and Eden, it was good to spend time with the whole family. Tom also got to shadow Eric for a couple days. Eric is a PA, and that's what Tom's going to grad school for. Thanks Eric!
While we were there, Eden turned two! Happy Birthday Eden! This little family was so fun for me to watch. The kids get along so well. Noah, Luke, and Logan were happy to have 3 days of school off for Thanksgiving. Since their house is the coolest on the block, all of their friends love coming over. I could see why, since Jessica and Eric work hard to have a friendly and welcoming spirit in their home.
We had a wonderful Thanksgiving week. Thank you Carriers!

Pretty little lady

Luke

I think Noah, Luke, and Logan were just as thrilled with Eden's bike as Eden was!

Noah

Loves his Aunt Jessica!

We then drove to Carthage and Nauvoo and toured around for a few hours. My favorite part was visiting the graves of Joseph, Hyrum, and Emma Smith. The whole time we were there, it was overcast, but when we reached the grave site (our last stop), the sun came out. The grass was green, the Mississippi was shimmering, and you could hear geese out on the river. Since it was winter time, Nauvoo was pretty quiet. We were the only ones visiting the graves and there just seemed to be a calming peace about it. I can't wait to meet that family some day.

Where John Taylor and Willard Richards hid after the mob left

Where Joseph fell

The drive through Illinois was absolutely beautiful. Even though there were no leaves on the trees, I loved seeing all the farmland and farm houses. It just seemed like a good place to be. We spent that night in Kearney Nebraska.

We then made an 8 hour drive to Wyoming and spent the night with my brother Blaine and Becky at their new townhouse. I'm kicking myself for not getting pictures at this stop. My camera got left in the car. Eliza and Paul were so interested in baby Emmitt and I thought it was adorable. Blaine and Becky made us a wonderful dinner and breakfast and sent us on our way with delicious rolls, cookies, and clementines. Thank you guys!
Next, we were on our way to Salt Lake to visit Curtis, Cami, and little Scott! Scott has grown so much! This was a wonderful visit. Curtis and Cami are always so good to talk to and the cousins were fun to watch while getting reacquainted. Thanks for letting us drop by!

Bluest eyes!

Next, we were Oakley bound! My parents were fast asleep on the couch by the time we pulled up, so we snuck in and put Emmitt right close to my Mom. She woke up with an "Ohh!!" (: Heh heh. We spent a week in Oakley and got caught up on some homework while Mom and Dad went to work. As always, we were spoiled rotten while we stayed with them. I always enjoy talking with my parents and seeing what they've been up to. They sure are busy. Between work, visiting/home teaching, church ball games, school meetings, and helping out in the community, I'm sure grateful they always make time to travel and see family or let family stay with them. They took us out to dinner our last night there. Emmitt cried the whole way into town and back home. (I think he's developed a hatred for his car seat. Can't say I blame him.) Anyway, thanks Mom and Dad for a good time and good company!

What a beautiful lady!

While we were there, we went to visit my Grandma. I always love listening to her stories. She told us a lot about family history. My favorite was when she told us how she met Grandpa. She was holding Emmitt while she told us, "He was engaged to some flashy brunette at the time," here she looks at Emmitt, "but we took care of that, huh!" I laughed for a long time. My grandma is about 5 feet tall, but she's not one to be messed with, so when she insisted we take home a Christmas tree, there was no turning her down. We managed to shove it in our trunk and tie down the hatch good enough to make it home. Our car was probably quite the sight.
We also made a quick visit to Wade and Michelle's house. We didn't see Wade or Kailey, but I couldn't believe how much the rest of my cousins had changed. My aunt Michelle was so sweet and sent us home with some yummy honey.
Now that we're back in Rexburg, we're so relieved to have made the long journey with no trouble at all. Our car ran smoothly and nobody got sick along the way. We really do have awesome family. Everyone is so generous and kind. I'm so glad we were able to see so many of them on this trip.
Here's an Emmitt update.

I thought he was asleep, but then I looked up and saw this!

"With eyes like the sea after a storm..." Name that movie!

Because every baby needs a naked baby picture. Bath time's a little intense around here.

Learning how to share.

 

Blahg

Ever since I got married, the amount of cooking and baking I do has increased, naturally. I quite enjoy looking up recipes, borrowing some from friends (especially my mom and sisters!), and seeing what I can come up with.

Here, I’m going to insert some background. I bought some Oreos. They were supposed to be saved for “Dirt and Worms” treats for our Halloween party this week, but Tom asked for one at a weak moment, so I said “ok” and had one myself. Then, the next day, I had two more while he was at work. Then he helped himself to one or two. Then we had some with some milk. Before you know it, they’re about half gone. Before Tom went to work three days before our party, we decided “we can buy more Oreos,” and I packed him several for lunch and sent him on his way. I was determined to save him half of what was left for about half an hour. Stupid Oreos. As always, it didn’t take long for the guilt to set in. “What a terrible wife I am! My husband is going to come home to no Oreos!” Then I slapped my hand to my forehead: “Duh! I can make cookies!”

Nope.
No eggs, no butter, no cookies. I’d pulled it off without one of those ingredients, but I couldn’t do it without either. Or so I thought! I googled “cookies without butter or eggs” and the first link that came up asked “No butter?” I answered “Well, no…” “No eggs?” “No!” “You can still make cookies!” “Squeal!”

As I read the recipe, my heart sunk lower and lower. Attention all recipe posters: People who don’t have butter or eggs probably don’t have coconut oil…let alone know it exists. There were several other ingredients I didn’t have. Whole wheat flour, raw sugar, baking powder, heck, I didn’t even have chocolate chips.

Just as I was about to give up, I thought, “I just bought baking cocoa. I could make chocolate cookies without chocolate chips…and maybe canola oil will do just fine instead of the coconut stuff. Baking soda doubles for baking powder, right? And I’m not against using white sugar instead of raw or white flour instead of wheat. Well then, why not?”

So I got to work. I came up with a cookie dough-like substance that didn’t taste half bad, so I rolled it into balls, rolled those in some sugar, then threw them in 350 degrees for 10 minutes. They came out looking splendid.

I was pretty excited and almost positive I’d just conquered my butterless eggless situation. I took a cookie off the sheet, tossed it around a bit to cool it off, then took a bite.

Wow.

This tastes like…like…like cardboard with a hint of chocolate.

I wasn’t quite ready to give up just yet, though. “Maybe if I smear some peanut butter on it, it will taste like a Reese’s peanut butter cup. “

Nice try. Now, I’m stuck with 11 cookies that look waaaay better than they taste, along with dough to make a dozen more and I’m at a loss. I don’t even have milk to wash the taste out of my mouth.

Grocery shopping tomorrow!

Happy Fall!

What better time to start a blog post than 2 AM?  Tom is now working the night shift and evidently, I’m switching with him…but not on purpose. Emmitt is still on the normal schedule and everything is all messed up. I must say, though, I feel very blessed with a husband who works so hard without complaint and a sweet baby (who sleeps through the night!!!).

I’ve felt bad lately for taking pictures of just Emmitt, so here are some pictures of Daddy too. 

Ok, now smile on the next one.

*Sigh, Emmitt, don't encourage him.

Conference this October was great as always. I take for granted how available it is in Idaho and Utah, though. It wasn’t on TV or the radio here, and we don’t have internet in our apartment, so I waited for Tom to get done with work. We caught up on a few sessions every night till we’d listened to all of it via downloads. I’m so grateful for the technology that let us do that after conference was over. (Thank you lds.org!) Tom and I haven’t been able to watch all of conference together since we’ve been married due to work or a clinical, so it has been a special treat this time around. My favorite talk was by Elder Bowen who told the story of losing his 8 month old baby boy and hearing his story about finding the eternal perspective that he would see his son again made me so grateful that I was married in the temple for time and all eternity and that we have the power of sealing here on earth.

Ok, now I have to talk about Emmitt. He is grabbing things and picking them up now. He also likes to have little “noise conversations”, which I just love. 

Sometimes I feel like I go on and on about how happy he is, but that’s not always the case, so here are a few comical photos to bring us up to speed with reality.

He’s kind of spoiled. He gets to take his morning nap in Mom and Dad’s bed. This is the “conqueror” shot.

And you know those photos people take of their newborns while they’re asleep with their head in their hands? 

Sorry, whoever's baby this is. Thank you Google Images.

I missed the boat on the newborn part, but my friend bet me I couldn’t make Emmitt do it. 

BOOM! So there Stephanie! Just ignore my hand trying to get out of the way. And my bad skills at including his whole head. And here's what we had to do to get there. 

He’s a pretty cute little guy, even if I say so myself.

Tom and I keep pretty busy with our online classes. I’m starting to wonder how it’s all going to work out next semester when there aren’t any more online options for me, but it has all worked out so far and I know the Lord blesses us with the things we need. That reminds me, we had the sister missionaries over for dinner and that was a boost to my spirits (don’t worry, I haven’t been down lately). I love the atmosphere that follows them everywhere. They shared a lesson about being a light to the world and it reminded me that I need to be better at reaching out instead of just staying in my apartment all day.

In other news, Fall is here! The weather here has really cooled down and I’ve noticed the leaves starting to change color. One thing that hasn’t changed is the rain storms. Here’s what I’m talking about.

Halloween preparations are underway! Tom and I are excited to have a party at our apartment that night. More on how that goes later.