Pre-Halloween with Ben

 Ben was scheduled to leave on a long mission right before Halloween, so we though we better get in some Halloween festivities before he left.  Rhone picked out a Buzz Light year costume and was dissapointed when it didn't have any wings.  So we bought some colored duct tape and foam board and set out to make a pair.  I think they turned out pretty good.  Rhone's friend had a costume birthday party, but of course, Rhone didn't want to dress up.  We went to the local pumpkin patch.  Rhone picked out the 1st 2 big pumpkins that he saw and insisted we got them even though they weren't great for carving.

Making the wings

 Painting the stripes

 Making the jet pack.  Ben was pretty precise about everything.  It makes me wonder how school projects are going to be

 Buzz's finished wings

 Bounce house at the party.  Notice Rhone is the only one who isn't dressed up.

Rolling the big pumpkin

 Looking proud of his pick

 

Making our witch pumpkin head

Tater Baby

We prayed a long time for another baby and we are so blessed and excited to have this little girl. Our little tater baby has been making her presence known since the start. I have been MUCH sicker this time than with Rhone. Around 10 weeks I finally got so exhausted and dehydrated that I was blacking out, almost to the point of passing out. The doctor sent me to the hospital for 2 bags of IV fluids and some zofran (a medication developed to help patients on chemo therapy). I was finally able to keep a little something in my stomach and started gaining weight. It has taken a long time to get feeling better and to recover my energy. My parents have been such an amazing help and of course Ben too. Rhone always prays "mommy won't be any more sick". He will run into the bathroom with a drink for me, give me his doggy, and pat my back. He has been pretty sweet.

I am due March 12, 2012. I am 22 weeks now and finally feeling pretty good. Everything looked really good at the ultra sound. We were excited and nervous to find out she's a girl. It's hard for me to be patient and watch my body transform, but we are so excited for our girl to get her. Now we just have to come up with a name....

18 weeks


22 weeks

Profile picture of Tater. She is facing right and her hand is by her face

Her little footprint

3-D image with her arm up by her chin

family time

Of course, the real reason we go to Idaho is to spend time with our family. We spent one day in Idaho Falls where the boys got to play at a little children's museum. They were pretty wild in there, but had fun. I forgot my camera, so hopefully I can get some of them from my mom. Rhone also LOVES going to Olin's house. I think it's because there's a hot tub. Rhone spent plenty of time doing "chores" with Papa. He helped Nana make Grandma Pete's apple pie and home-made noodles. We are so blessed to have such an amazing family.

Rhone really loves his "bronco" shirt

Cutting noodles
Just spending quality time with Nana and Papa.

party time!

My mom's church did a "potato fest" fundraiser that we went too. We had a huge potato bar and there were lots of little "potato" games for Rhone.

We also planned a surprise 50th birthday party for my mom (she's not 50 yet, but we wanted to do it while I was home). She was getting pretty suspicious and in the end it was Rhone who gave it away. We had a great meal and dessert and just visited with friends. We played a "How old is she game" were we posted pictures of her from the past and everyone had to guess how old she was in each one. It was really fun. Plus Brock and I found some pretty funny pictures from the past too. It was pretty tricky to execute the party in a barn with no electricity, but we pulled it off. I wish I would have gotten more pictures of the decorations.

Rhone had to dig up all of Mr. Potato head's parts.





White chicken chilli in bread bowls were dinner at the party
My mom and dad
My whole family
We had home-made German chocolate cake and cheesecake bites for dessert.

Hunting

It is always so nice to get outside and enjoy the amazing scenery of Idaho. It was tough for me to wake up early for opening morning of sharptail hunting, but I managed to pull it off and make the hike even though I wasn't feeling well. Rhone loves going out with us. He likes being perched on Papa's back, bossing the dogs around.

Ben was a diligent deer hunter. He woke up early every morning and logged some serious miles hiking. He got a nice 4x4 buck and he didn't even have to drag it too far. A big thanks goes my dad who finished packaging up the deer for Ben.