Friday, November 22, 2013

It's a...

We are so excited to welcome a new baby BOY to our family in April.  Last Friday on November 15th, Casey and I got to see our little guy during an ultrasound.  Casey really wanted another boy, I really didn't care as long as the baby was healthy!  After the tech went through everthing and made sure the baby had all ten fingers and ten toes, she checked the gender.  It was obvisoulsy a BOY, even I could tell it was a boy before she even said anything. 
Driving home, tears welled up in my eyes.  How was I ever going to love another baby boy as much as I love our little Mason? 
Then I went to my mom's to pick Mason up.  I peeked through the window and saw our little Mason, with the biggest smile on his face, crawling around making messes at grandma's house.  It was at that moment when I realized I knew exactly how I'm going to love another little boy as much as I love our little Mason.  This little baby boy is going to be part of our family, he's going to be Mason's little brother, and he's going to be our son.  For these reasons, I love this little guy already!
Casey went to the Sweet Tooth Fairy (thanks to Myrn and Garrett) and bought some blue sprinkled cupcakes.  We celebrated by eating them that night. 
We are so grateful for a healthy baby BOY!


Monday, November 18, 2013

14 Months

Our little Mason turned 14 months old on Friday, November 16th.  Here is a little about our Mason at 14 months old. 

Teeth:  Mason has 4 molars, one on each side top and bottom, 2 front teeth, and 4 bottom teeth for a total of 10 teeth. 

Sleeping:  Mason is back on his schedule of waking up 1-2 times a night.  He usually wakes up just to be rocked and comforted then he'll go back to bed.  Mason still takes 2 naps during the day, the better he naps during the day, the better he usually sleeps at night. 
Mason always falls asleep on Casey's shoulder while we are at church.
Talking:  Mason has learned the word whoa.  He also continues to say mamma and dadda.  I've also heard him say his cousin's name Lydia--"Lyha" but he'll never do it in front of anyone, so maybe I'm just hearing things. 

Eating:  Mason loves food, just not too much at any given time.   I usually end of feeding him about 5-6 times a day, because he won't eat very much each time.  Mason's new found love foods are:  chicken noodle soup, any fruit, homemade sweet potatoes, potatoes and gravy, Oreo cookies, and chocolate candy bars.
Mason with a mouth full of Oreo cookies.

Movement:  Mason is definitely into the curious stage.  He crawls into and gets into everything.  The other day I watched him crawl into his toy basket and crawl into our pots and pans cupboard.  This little guy of ours is so curious and wants to explore everything!  We spend a lot of our day teaching Mason that we don't need to pull all the DVDs out of the cupboard.  He's slowly learning that when he pulls them out he has to put them back away--it's definitely not as fun to put them away as it is to pull them out.  Mason also loves to go in his room and pull the books off his bookshelf until he finds one of his favorite books to flip through the pages of .  Although we spend a lot of the day picking up the many messes Mason makes, we wouldn't change his curious personality for anything!!!



Other:  Mason has learned how to wave good-bye and hello.  He's also learned how to shake his head no.  We definitely know when he doesn't want something because he'll shake his head no so hard that he'll usually tip over.  Mason loves to spend time with family.  He'll usually get a little emotional whenever we have to leave and say good-bye at grandmas's house or a cousin's house. 

We love our Mason!!!
 
 

Thursday, November 14, 2013

Front Sight and St. George

This past week was a little hectic for our little family.  Casey had the opportunity to go to a pistol gun training course in Pahrump, Nevada with my dad and brother-in-laws Jared and Justin.  The training course is called Front Sight.  Originally the course is about $1,500, plus you had to buy all your gear which included 600 rounds of bullets, ear and eye protection, 3 magazines, a holster, etc.  Needless to say, we never thought Casey would ever have the opportunity to go, so when Jared was able to get a deal on the course for only $100, there were no questions asked...Casey was going. 

Sunday, November 3rd
The guys decided to take our van so they would have enough room for all their gear.  Casey left our house around 2:30pm to go pick everyone up.  Saying good-bye to Casey was a little emotional for both me and Mason.  Casey went to pick everyone up and they were on the road around 3:00pm.  They drove straight through to Pahrump, Nevada only stopping to fill up with gas and to get something to eat.  They arrived around 10:00pm.  They quickly unloaded the car, checked into their hotel and then went to bed.  They had to wake up around 5:00 the next morning so they could make it to their class that started at 7:00.

For us girls that stayed home, we were invited over to Myrn and Garrett's for dinner.  We had fun spending time together and working on putting together some gifts for my Relief Society.  When it was time to go home, mom followed me home and came inside with me to make sure everything was ok.  I had never spent the night home alone, so I was a little nervous.

Monday, November 4th
The boys had to wake up around 5:00 so they could be to their class which started at 7:00.  They packed up the things they needed, packed their lunches for the day, went to McDonald's for breakfast, then started their 30 minute drive to the Front Sight location.
Day one on the range, the boys learned how to hold their guns properly, how to load their guns properly, how to load a bullet into their gun properly, etc. 



Monday morning I went with Amy to Bud's sports class at the Rec Center.  Then Amy and I took lunch down to my mom at the shop.  The rest of the day Mase and I spent doing laundry.  That night for FHE, us girls and kids, took blankets down to Utah Valley Regional Medical Center.  They use the blankets and give them to children who are sick at the hospital.  After taking the blankets down we went to Taco for dinner.  That night, my mom again followed me home and came inside to make sure everything was ok so I wouldn't be nervous through the night. 

Tuesday, November 5th
The boys didn't have to wake up until 6 today.  After waking up, they packed up their gear, packed their lunches for the day, then went and ate breakfast at the hotel's continental breakfast.  They then started their 30 min. drive to the Front Sight location so they could be there by 8.
Day two on the range the boys practiced the skills they learned from day one.  They also learned where to properly hit a target. 
 
Casey is the one in the red shirt standing at the shooting line. 

Tuesday morning Mase and I woke up and went to baby sit the kids.  The rest of the day was spent working on my Relief Society Holiday Dinner which took place Tuesday night.  Mom and Myrn babysat Mason for me while I went to my Relief Society Holiday Dinner.  Mason had so much fun spending the night with them.  Mom again followed me home and helped me make sure everything was ok at home.       

Wednesday, November 6th
The boys again didn't wake up until 6.  They did the same morning routine as yesterday. 
Day three on the range was spent learning tactical movements through a home, they also did a course where they walked through a "home" and had to shoot the bad guys.  The boys also learned how to clear a malfunction in their guns and they again practiced skills they learned on day one and two. 
 


Wednesday morning Mase and I went and worked at Amy's.  Then we came home and got everything packed and ready to go to St. George tomorrow.  Wednesday night we went over to Amy's for dinner.  Myrn and Garrett went and picked up Zupas and we ate it all together.  Mom again followed me over to our house and walked inside to check on things with me so I wouldn't be nervous. 

Thursday, November 7th
Today was the boy's last day.  They again ate breakfast at the hotel, packed their lunches and their gear then headed out.  Today was their test day.  Casey was so nervous.  The morning started out with a shoot-off.  Each group member was paired off and then they would both shoot at a target.  The person who had the best shot, won the round and moved on.  Casey and Jared ended up shooting the hostages (the person they were trying to protect) right in the face so they were eliminated the first round.  Justin and my dad ended up competing against each other :(.  My dad ended up winning between the two and ended up coming in 2nd in the whole competition!  Justin came in 3rd!  Case said this is quite the accomplishment because there was about 40 people in the competition.
 


After the competition the boys ate lunch and then it was time for their test.  Casey ended up passing the test and graduating!  If he ever goes back to Front Sight again he'll still have to take the same class again because he didn't graduate DISTINGUISHED, but we're still pretty proud that he graduated!  After the test the boys got to do one last fun shoot.  A target was up with 2 bad guys surrounding a hostage.  The person shooting had to put a loved ones name on the hostage.  Casey put my name.  Case had to shoot the bad guys without shooting me on the target.  Case did a great job and I survived!  In fact, my dad put my mom's name, Justin put Lin's name, and Jared put Amy's name and we all survived!  Way to go boys...it's nice to know you'll be able to protect us if we're ever in a hostage situation:)

Us girls started our trip to St. George around 12:30.  We stopped at Subway for lunch then hit the road.  Mason fussed all the way to Fillmore so we stopped and took a little break.  Lin and mom decided to try to take him in their car along with Lydia.  Within 2 minutes Mason was asleep and he didn't fuss the rest of the way!
When we got to St. George we unloaded our cars and Lin, Lydia, and I went to Wal-Mart for groceries.  After Wal-Mart we went to Poncho and Lefty's for dinner.  After dinner, mom and I took Mason back to grandma and grandpa's condo so we could get him ready for bed.  As I was putting Mase down for bed, Casey came home.  Mason was so excited to see him, it took me another 30 minutes to get him to go to sleep because he was so excited. 

Friday, November 8th
We let the boys sleep in because they were so exhausted from their trip.  We woke up and ate breakfast, got ready for the day, then headed over to Pioneer Park.  Pioneer Park was so much fun.  They have tons of rocks that you can climb on. 




 
I learned something new about Casey, I had no idea he was a little nervous of confined spaces.  This "crack" was so tight and it made Casey nervous to hike through it, so he didn't.  He hiked up half way to help the kiddies through, but then turned around. 
 

 

Case was making me so nervous with little Mason.  He was running everywhere and taking Mason with him as he ran.  Case would run up these high hills and jump onto these steep rocks.  Case might be nervous around tight spaces, but he's definitely not scared around heights. 

We called this the "hot tub"
This picture was taken just after Casey leaped across a 5ft. crevasse.  All I hear was mom and Amy say, "oh no, did he make it?"  It scared me to death! 



Mason and Ashley were having fun playing in the dirt. 


That afternoon we went over to Amy and Jared's condo and went over to the clubhouse for lunch.  We BBQed hot dogs.


 After lunch the boys watched the kids while the girls went shopping.  After shopping, we went to Little Ceaser's and picked up a few pizzas for dinner and we went to Nielsen's Frozen Custard and got some ice cream for dessert.  We had such a fun day today. 

Saturday, November 9th
Mom, dad, Case, and I woke up early and got the condo cleaned.  Then we headed over to Amy and Jared's condo then headed over to a dinosaur museum.  The dinosaur museum was so cool.  I had never been to a dinosaur museum and this one turned out to be pretty informative and interesting.  The museum had different fossils of dinosaur prints, tail marks, teeth marks, etc.  It was fun looking at these fossils that were said to have formed over 3 billion years ago. 
 
   


Mason was cutting 3 teeth on this trip.  He had a small temperature, but was miserable most of the time.  Most of his time at the dinosaur museum was spent sleeping. 
 


This giant rock is the largest fossil of dinosaur footprints ever found. 
 



After the dinosaur museum we went back to Amy and Jared's condo for lunch.  We had a delicious lunch of spaghetti, french bread, and a green salad.  After lunch it was time for mom, dad, Case, Mase, and I to head home.  We headed home a day earlier then the others so mom and dad could go see Canyon and Oakley's primary program on Sunday. 

We had such a fun trip to St. George, we are so glad Casey had the opportunity to go to Front Sight and have such a fun time.  We're also glad we got to spend the rest of the weekend in St. George with family. 

Memories
*Lydia picking out every kind of cereal...one for her dad, one for her mom, one for Bud, one for Parks, and one for her.  She is always so thoughtful!
*Mason cutting 3 teeth and being a little grumpy throughout the whole trip.
*Casey leaping across a 5-6ft. crevasse.  I wasn't watching, but mom and Amy were like did he make it? 
*Mom, dad, and Casey thinking the Texaco sign was the Angel Moroni on the new Payson temple. 
*Bud calling the "crack" the "bum crack."
*Mason falling asleep countless times in my arms because he didn't feel very good. 
*Mason learning how to climb the steps at the condo.


Tuesday, November 5, 2013

Halloween

This past Thursday was Halloween.  As with every other holiday, around here, we celebrated Halloween on Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday

Wednesday night Casey and I decided to paint our pumpkins instead of carving them this year, painting them was so much easier.  We also spent the night painting Casey's Halloween costume...I forgot to take pictures , but this year Casey was a dice.  We had fun painting large black dots onto a white box for Casey's costume and painting our pumpkins. 

We started Thursday off by going to Lydia's Halloween parade.  Mason had so much fun watching all the kiddies walk around in their costumes.  The parade was going through the lunch room and the auditorium, but we had the brilliant idea to watch the kids, in their costumes, cross through outside.  Let's just say it was definitely warmer when it started, because when all the grades had passed through, it was freezing outside.  Mason, Ashley, and Parks were freezing.  Mason loved being snuggled up in his stroller with his blanket. 

The rest of the day was pretty low key, Casey was at work until 5:00 so our Halloween celebrating picked up again around 5:30.  We started our Trick-or-Treating rounds by going to Myrn and Garrett's, Grandma and Grandpa Furr's and Lin and Justin's.  We had a fun time showing off how cute Mason looked in his CUTE Mickey Mouse costume.  While we were there we saw Amy and Stace and all the kids in their cute costumes.
 

 
 

After trick-or-treating at Myrn and Garrett's, Lin and Justin's, and Grandma and Grandpa's we headed over to C.J. and Bridgette's and Casey's mom and dad's.  When we were at Casey's mom and dad's we saw Andy, Tayci, and Parker.  Parker dressed up as a cute minion.  We, again, had fun showing off how cute Mason looked in his costume. 
 
Since mom and dad had to work at the temple on Thursday, they didn't get to see all the kids in their Halloween costumes and we didn't get to do our annual tradition of going over to mom and dad's for chili, bread sticks, and Halloween sugar cookies.  So mom decided to celebrate Halloween on Friday night.  Everyone dressed their kids in their costumes, AGAIN, and we celebrated Halloween, AGAIN! 
Lydia was a witch
Canyon was a Ninja
Landon was Optimus Prime from Transformers
Oakley was the Wolverine
Parker was a monkey
Mabel was Tinkerbell
Mason was Mickey Mouse
Ashley was Minnie Mouse
 
I've never been a real big fan of Halloween.  I never liked dressing up and parading around in a costume, but Halloween becomes a lot more fun when your not the one dressing up and you get to dress up your kids!!
 
We had such fun nights celebrating Halloween with family.