Walking a Little Better

To show our our little Sammy is growing and how he is on the brink of walking on his own

Random Photos

This is the ice coming off the back of our house, can you believe it's still hanging on?!

Sammy enjoying his favorite lunch - ramen noodles!

He absolutely loves his scoop and dump trucks, he has been pushing them around the house nonstop since opening them at Christmas

Making Memories

So our Christmas was nice, but quite eventful and full of memories we will (hopefully) laugh later.... First, we enjoyed being lazy all morning, not really doing much since we didn't have to. Then, our friends whom we were to have dinner with later on called to say that they were at the hospital because the wife (my friend from nursing school who is also expecting) had a blood clot in her leg. So, we decided since we had Robert's work truck, we would brave the icy and snowy roads to go see her. Of course right before we leave, we discover that the toilet overflowed, so we had to deal with that first. We made it there just fine despite there not being a single snow plow in extistence in Rexburg and happily she was released around 3:00 that afternoon. But, as luck would have it, when we went to leave, the truck wouldn't start. So after nearly an hour of trying to get it to start, we had to leave the truck and went to our friends' house to do dinner and enjoy our evening. Then, when we had finished dinner and a movie (around 10:00), we had to ask our friends to drive us home and the roads were so icy and snowy because it had been snowing constantly all day; it took us almost 50 mins to get home (normally 20-25) and then he had to drive all the way back! We felt so bad, not to mention that the road to our house was non-existant! I don't know how we made it all the way down to our house (around 1/2 mile) and he made it all the way back out in a Malibu with no 4-wheel drive or snow tires!
So it was quite the eventful Christmas, one we will definitely not forget soon, but we enjoyed it and we hope you all enjoyed yours!

Sammy's First Christmas

This little movie is for Grandma Skousen. The reason why we didn't wrap the box for the horse is because we wanted to set it up for Sammy to ride the minute he walked in, which he did! We took two movies and this is the second of the two after all the gifts had been opened and Sammy wanted to ride the horsey some more. He absolutely loves his new toy and is probably going to be his favorite for a long time, so thank you Grandma and Grandpa Skousen!!!!

Christmas '08

Sammy watching Daddy show him how to use a hammer :) This little toy lights up and makes funny "boink" noises when you hit it against something

Sammy is such a happy little boy these days, he just melts my heart!

Checking out his new rock-a-stack toy

The beautiful clock Robert got me. His mom has one and he knows how much I love listening to the beautiful music it plays, so when we saw it at Sam's Club, he couldn't resist.

And Robert also got a clock (it was definitely a clock year) This one is different in that it tells the time, the day, the date, how much of the moon is lit up, and the temperatures inside and outside. The outside temp is what he really wants to know because it has been so bitterly cold.

So we had a great Christmas this year sleeping in, opening Sammy's presents for him and showing him how cool they really are, and having waffles with strawberries and cool whip. Robert ended up with his clock, a crosstitch made for him by me, some "perfect push-up" paddles, Kung Fu Panda, Sorry, new sunday socks, and a power drill. Sammy made out with his bouncy horse, alphabet blocks, rock-a-stacker, hammer, pop-up toy, two huge tonka trucks, a popper thing you push and a xylophone piano. I came away with the gorgeous clock, Dark Knight, a new Wii game (thanks Adam!), a nice office chair and a little stone plaque that says "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star, do you know how loved you are?"

We wish all of our friends and families a Merry Christmas and know that we love you!

Finally Ready for Christmas

Our biggest present - a new computer!!!

The tree with all the presents waiting patiently beneath it

The wonderful stockings my mother-in-law has made for each of us. We are now ready for Christmas to come with just about all the gifts under the tree (or already opened), the stockings hung up and just about all our gifts to others sent out.

This is what we woke up to this morning - snow covering our entire back doors! The wind is so fierce here, it really makes it feel alot colder than it is (like it needs to!)

The blazing fire Robert built for me this morning before he left for work (I love my husband!) It made our house feel so nice and cozy with the wind blowing so hard outside! We are thinking of building another one on Christmas Eve and roasting marshmellows! But these will be few and far in between because we have no way of keeping Sammy away from the stove, which gets quite hot on the outside, and you know toddlers - they want to explore and touch everything!

Frustrations

I let Sammy play with the pots and pans I keep below the oven and when I walked into the kitchen, this is what I found! My little boy had been so anxious to get every pot and pan out that he had climbed into the drawer himself! What a cutie!

This is also during the unloading of the toy box, but he finally found what he wanted - his other binkie that he likes better

Sammy unloading his "toy box" and having a great time

So we have had a tough week with our house. When we first moved in, there were quite a few things that were missing and/or broken that we had to fix right off the bat like missing light fixtures, a broken kitchen faucet, etc. But this week was the climax of things breaking down! First, our pipes froze and we had no water for a day and a half (Sat thru Sun). Then, the water pump stopped working, again leaving us with no water, but thankfully for only half a day (Mon). Next, the toilet in the smaller bathroom overflowed (Tues). And no, this was not just a little spill over, it was two inches of water on the floor, rugs floating and half the carpet in the hallway soaked clean through. Needless to say, it took alot of work to get up all the water and hopefully the carpet will be ok despite the soaking. Then, the furnace stopped working (Wed). At first, Robert thought it was the ignitor, so he removed it, finding out that it wasn't the ignitor, but that we were completely out of propane (even though it said we had 40% of a 250 gal. tank two weeks ago) so when he went to go put the ignitor back in, he broke it. So we looked all over the next day for a place to find a new ignitor....only to be told that we couldn't buy one ourselves because they are only sold to furnace contractors for some stupid reason. So, we spent $460 filling up the propane tank and $117 for the furnace guys to bring us an ignitor and put it in, which Robert could have done himself and saved us $75 and alot of hassel. Then, the power went out(Thurs)!!! Can you see my frustration level growing?! The worst part was the heat because we had to wait until the next day at noon before the propane came and the furnace guys came around 2:00, so we had no heat all night and all morning - talk about cold!! So the picture above is of Sammy being so cute and adorable despite the house being about 50 degrees!

Update on the Skousens

Sorry it has been soo long since I've posted, but I believe most will understand how crazy things can be with Christmas, moving, being pregnant, etc. But, I wanted to let everyone know how things are going with us now that we've sort of settled in. Robert is working for Foster Farms & Cattle as assistant farm manager. The job provides the house rent-free and health insurance, so it's a great opportunity. We live almost at the end of a dead-end road, so it feels really out in the country, but we are actually only about seven miles outside of down-town Rigby (which isn't much to talk about, but hey). Sammy growls constantly at everything and is loving trying new foods daily. As far as Mom & baby girl Skousen, we are doing very well. I feel her a little more each day and I'm beginning to look a little more pregnant each day, which is fun! So that's about it for us, we hope you are all doing well!

Our New Country Home

This is the view from our front door. On the right, you can see our cute little decorative well - we've put icicle lights around it for Christmas, so fun!

This is the view out our back doors - simply beautiful fields

Our two car garage (plus many, many empty boxes)

The laundry/utility room as you walk in from the garage

The kitchen - very long, but also very large! The door next to the fridge separates the laundry room, making it much quieter when the laundry is going! And yes, I don't have a dishwasher, but we are thinking about getting one because I HATE washing dishes by hand! :)

Looking into the kitchen/dining room from the living room. Sammy loves the french doors that look onto the backyard and I love them because they let in so much light!

The living room. In the far left is a wood-burning stove. The door in the right of the picture is the bigger of the two bathrooms. On the left just outside of the picture are two large picture windows that look out the front of the house, which also lets in tons of light

This is the front room just inside the front door. I don't really know what to do with this room quite yet, but I am thinking of getting a bench to put next to the door and putting a row of hooks above it to hang coats on or something. If anyone has any other ideas, let me know!

This is the extra bedroom, which we are using as an office. As you can see, for now it is serving as the "throw all" room. This room has so much closet space, it's perfect for office storage. Along the wall where the boxes are now, we are hoping to get a sewing table where I can work on my sewing projects. Along the wall with the window and the wall to the right, we have our glass desk where the computer, printer, and my scrapbooking stuff will be.

This is the other bathroom. Kinda small, with the toilet behind the door. But with the tub/shower in the other bathroom out of order, it is nice to have somewhere else to shower!

This is Sammy's room across the hall from the office and next to the master bedroom. He loves his crib and there is lots of space for him to crawl around and throw his toys.

This is looking into the master bedroom. This room is also very large and has a nice walk-in closet with mirror sliding doors, which also makes the room feel even bigger. One funky thing about this room is that the light is right next to the door and the switch is out in the hallway, crazy huh?

This is looking from the front door into the hallway leading to the bedrooms. You can see into Sammy's room in the back corner of the house.

And here we have our beautiful Christmas tree! Robert has really been a sport in indulging me with all the house repairs I've been anxious to get done and all the decorating that I wanted to do for Christmas. It has really made the atmosphere of our home feel like Christmas with the tree, the lights and putting up gorgeous colored icicle lights on the house (I'll get you a picture of that soon!)

Turkey Day Continued

Lisa's fiance', Eric, helping Shanna use the sights on his gun

Everyone having a great time shootin' the guns. We had shotguns, pistols, etc. and two boxes of skeets. Can you spell fun?

Even Robert's mom came out and tried Eric's little gun. But he accidentily pinched her thumb while helping her cock it back and as you can see, she wasn't expecting it! She was a real trooper!

Sammy having a great time with Great Grandma Smith

Sammy loving being with his Daddy!

Turkey Day

Robert and his little bro Kurtis struttin' their stuff with the pistols

Sammy has really grown to love his little car and has become more confident in his walking

Sweet Sammy giving us one of his award-winning smiles......or maybe just heart-winning! :)

Robert in his element on his Yamaha 450 motorcycle. The boys spent the morning "riding bikes" while the women prepared the feast

Sammy discovered Grandpa's foot massager last night and was having a great time playing with the knobs that rotated in different directions!

More of Sammy

Looks like the scene from Willy Wonka where Violet's dad is eating the red rope, doesn't it?

Eating Auntie Shanna's headphones - a real treat!

Sweet dreams

This is how my sweet little guy fell asleep on me yesterday, so cute!!

Some GREAT News!

This is Sammy trying out some of the toys they have out at Sam's Club for Christmas

We have been enjoying our visit with Grandma and Grandpa Skousen out in Hyder, Arizona where the weather reminds us of anything besides wintertime!

My little man! He loved this bouncey horse, but as you can see behind him, it's not going to be a present anytime soon!

Sammy has really been enjoying his little push car we got for him. As long as someone follows to redirect when needed, he will go around and around the house!! As for our good news, Robert has finally, after two months of unemployment, found a job! And it will be a very good one, too! We will be moving to Ririe, Idaho (by Rexburg) where Robert will be the assistant farm manager on a potato farm. The job provides a 3 bedroom, 2 bath house, health insurance for the family and a vehicle for Robert to drive to work! So many blessings have been poured out and we are grateful first and foremost to Heavenly Father and also to all those who have prayed and supported us during this trying time.

Across the West

Back end with the two semi trucks pushing up the hill

The back of the tank thing

The thing itsself. It looks like some sort of tank, but we weren't sure

The front end of the whole she-bang

So on our roundabout trip to Arizona, we stopped by Nevada and California to check out job possibilities. These pictures are of something huge (blue) that they were towing from California all the way to Utah. It had two pilot cars in front and two in back, along with two police escorts at each end as well. This rig was HUGE!!! It literally took up both sides of the road, which explains all the escorts. It was also so large and heavy that it had 1 semi truck in front pulling and two on the back pushing! Not something you see everyday, or on every road trip!