Four months old!

Kaylie is already 4 months old. She is growing up so fast I can hardly stand it. She was actually 4 months old last week, but her dr. apt. was today (like we didn't have enough to do the day before the move). The apt went as well as could be expected with so many shots. Kaylie's stats...75% head, 25% height, 75% weight. We love those chubby cheeks.
She is doing so many things now. She can roll to her side, sit up amost by herself, and entertain herself with her toys and her toes. She can pull the handle on her chair to make the music herself. Our favorite is all the "talking" and smiling and laughing ;she is so much fun to play with and we are so grateful she is our little girl.

Goodbye little Kate!

We went up to Heber on Saturday for a farewell to Utah dinner with my family. They brought out all the skis and some christmas snow decorations to remind us of what we will not miss. And made us an Arizona survival kit with extra strength deodarant, pool floaties, and some phoenix suns gear.

It has been so fun and such a blessing to live only an hour away. We have been able to see a lot of one another, and if we ever needed anything or just wanted to have fun, they were right there. I am going to miss them SO much. Good thing there are planes and cars.

I have been thinking lately how I could have NEVER been a pioneer, because I could never leave my family knowing I might not see again. It is hard enough to leave, and I already have plans to see them in Oct. and for Thanksgiving and Christmas. And I am sure there will be busy phone lines. I think I am really sad to miss Kate...I think she is changing so fast and we will miss so many things between now and Oct. ...she doesn't exactly talk on the phone yet. I am sad for all the things that my family will miss as Kaylie grows up too. I guess this means you can definitely count on more blog post from me.

I wanted some UTAH family pictures before we left. We tried last weekend with a professional photographer and even though she took decent picts, Kaylie's performance was less than stellar. Take two...Crystal as the photographer and my mom as the "smile maker :) " and here is what we got.

The first goodbye

My last day of work was yesterday and I am finding myself very sentimental. I had just gone back to work after having Kaylie, when we decided to move and I feel like I have had to say goodbye twice, once when I left to have Kaylie, and now for good. I hate goodbyes and this is the first of many that will be soon coming over the next week or two.
For all my girls in the O.R. that may be reading this, I love you guys and I am going to miss you like crazy... you were like a second family to me. I learned so much working with you all and I had a lot of fun along the way. I feel like we were a team and we had a bond that is unique to us. I hope we will keep in touch.
Beside leaving all my friends I am sad about leaving too, because it is the first time in the past five years, I won't be working. I am sad to not be a nurse anymore and I am not sure how I feel about not bringing home any bacon of my own or having a place that is just mine. This has been a hard goodbye, and I know there are harder ones to come.
My mom has been watching Kaylie while I worked a few last days and it has been great. It is really to bad we are moving because it was working out so well. I don't think Kaylie even noticed I was gone...she thinks her grandma is a lot of fun.

Scared to Death!

I used to think I was the kind of person who remaind calm in critical situations. Sometime events occur at the hospital and I feel that I have the ability to put emotions away and perform what is nessicary to obtain a positive outcome. Maybe you reading this have thought I might be a good person to have around in the event of an emergency. This my blog readers is not true. Yesterday our sweet Toby dog had a seizure, or at least I think that is what it was now, and I totally freaked out. All I could do is stroke him, crying and screaming "don't die Toby, I love you Toby". Thankfully my mom had just come over to watch Kaylie for me, and she was able to act reasonable. I picked convulsing 54 lb Toby up and put him in the car. My mom got Kaylie in her carseat. We drive the fifteen minutes to the vet. Of course by the time we are halfway there, Toby stops convulsing and by the time we get there is acting pretty normal.

I tried to tell the vet about the twithching and convulsing and the dragging of his limbs as he tried to walk. It was the saddest thing when, unable to control his movements, he rolled on his back and looked up helpless. I thought he was going to die right there in the entry way. Even now, looking back I can picture the morning in my head and I am heartbroken for my poor pet. I hope I can forget the scene soon.

An update on Toby...they checked him out and he is okay. They couldn't find anything physically wrong with him, so they said he is probally epileptic or emotional or stressed. Who would have thought that moving is stressing him out too. He also said it is not that uncommon for dogs to have seizures. They perscribed him Xanax too, just like the kind a human would take. We even picked it up at Walgreens. We are supposed to give it to him whenever he has a seizure. Now atleast next time this happens I will have something to do for him...besides yelling "don't die".

Sound Asleep Sweetie

I couldn't resist taking this picture and posting it.

She doesn't get to keep them with her when she sleeps, but she falls asleep so much better with a "baby" or a blankie to cuddle. It is so sweet.

Cute Kaylie poses for picts.

I know nobody want to see her upset, but I want to remeber the way she looks when she does everything.

I have this thing about sunflowers...I love them. I love them because they remind me of Heber where they line the driveway to the house I grew up in. I love them because they are bright and cheerful and beautiful. I love them because they are wild and strong. I love them because they remind me of summer, especcailly the end of summer when you can look back on the summer and everything good that has happened. I love them because they make me sentimental ever year...and for that I hate them. I hate them because they cause me to look back on the summer, and if you are looking back on the summer, then the summer is over and I love the summer more than I love the sunflowers.

ARIZONA!

I know that some of you have already heard, but for the rest of you...the Carpenter's are moving to Arizona!

Didn't see it coming? Neither did I. Jeff got a position with Troon Golf based out of Scottsdale (still doing accounting work). I know a golf company, how could he say no. So we are packing up and heading out. It is pictures like the one above that make me think Arizona may be a fun experience, a new experience anyway. I am really heartbroken about having to leave our family, friends, neighbors, our home and our jobs. We have been so blessed to live in the community that we do and have our family and friends so near. Right now we are in the process of trying to find a place to rent down there, and getting our home ready for someone new, and enjoy some of our favorite things about Utah while we are still here. What a busy time!

Charelston Fireworks

We went up to Charleston for the 24th of July. It has been a tradition of mine and Jeff's, and this year we go to take Kaylie too. If you haven't ever been down by the lake to watch the fireworks on the 24th, you should. It is the best show because they are directly above you, and they are so loud. That being said...Kaylie is ridiculously over dressed because I was trying to keep the noise out of her ears with her winter hat, as well as my hands. We had a great evening..visiting crystal and jake, a KFC picnic with a view at sunset, and of course the big show. Kaylie liked the first half of the fireworks and was very good at watching them. The second half went not as well, but we all had a fun 24th.

PB & J cookies

What a perfect after school treat! Don't try these without milk. These are super easy and they look pretty impressive.

Need:
1 yellow cake mix
2 eggs
2/3 c oil
1 c peanut butter...smooth
1 c jam (your favorite flavor)
sugar

Mix together all ingredents except the jam. Spoon out dough into and roll into balls. Roll dough balls in sugar. Place on cookie sheet and use a fork to flatten. Bake for 5 minutes at 350'. In the mean time, pPut cup of jam in a ziploc and cut the corner so you can squeeze out the jam ( like you would with frosting). Remove cookies from oven and leave on cookie sheet. Use a spoon to make an indent in middle of cookies. Squirt a bit of jam in the indent. Put bake in the oven for 5 more minutes.

Disneyland

Kaylie has a love /hate relationship with Disneyland. While she enjoyed the jungle cruise, the tiki room, and the buzz light year ride, she screamed on pirates and sleeped through pinocchio. Here she is on the cruise looking around.

california girl

We got back from a California vacation last week. we had so much fun on the beach , at Disneyland spending time with Jeff's family and letting Kaylie experience so many new things...her first airplane ride, disneyland for the first time, her first time in the ocean (only her feet). Yeah for vacation!

that's so funny

We just got back from vacation and we had a blast. I will post more about it and all the pictures when I get more time later this week. Kaylie started to really laugh while we were on vacation. I have only been able to make her do it two other times too, but this is her laughing for the very first time. I am so glad we had the camera right there. If you can't tell I am jumping on the bed and laughing. That seems to be the only thing that is funny to our little girl so far. Go to the mucis player on the right margin and pause the music so you can hear the video.

Too good to be true?

The following email was sent to me this morning...

DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY & NATURAL RESOURCES SANDTON TOWERS,
JOHANNESBURG PMB. 12701 SOUTH AFRICA.
FROM THE DESK OF: MR. DAVID THABISO (Manager Project Allocation) Email CONFIDENTIAL

Attn: Sir/ Madam, I am a member of the contract award committee and 14 project allocation manager, of the Department of Minerals and Natural Resources in South Africa; I am in search of an agent to assist us in the transfer of (US$45.5M) and subsequent investment in properties in your country. You will be required to.
(1) Assist in the transfer of the said funds.
(2) Advise on lucrative areas for investment.
If you decide to render your service to us in this regard, 20% of the total sum of US$45.5M will be for you. Please I want you to understand that this transaction is a deal and should be treated very confidential.
Thank you and God bless, as I wait in anticipation of your fullest co-operation. Send your E-mail to my Private mailing address: davidthabiso2008@yahoo.com
Yours Faithfully,
MR David Thabiso

I found this so funny. I have heard of these sort of emails, but I have never received one myself. Jeff got an email like this a few years ago, and played along with it, corresponding with the people a few times, but never giving out personal information. He could only receive his million dollars of inheritance money through a direct bank transfer, and so he did not receive his money at all...haha. Now the American public aren't exactly a bunch of geniuses, but how dumb do they think we are? To believe that I was selected to transfer funds, and am trusted enough to do so, based onlyon the qualifications that I am able to read, and that I have a gmail account. Who would have thought that all you have to do to make 8 million dollars is sit at home and wait for your email address to be selected? Who are they kidding?

All dressed up!

This is Kaylie dressed for church on Sunday in a dress from aunt Chelle.

She sure looked cute, but she wasn't quite sure about it all.

"No more pictures please."

" Oh mom, this is so embarrassing."

We went to Heber the weekend to celebrate the fourth of july, my grandpa's 80th birthday, and have a Anderson family reunion. We had a blast singing, playing games, and doing skits, eating and just hanging out and visiting with everyone. It was the first reunion in almost 10 years, and everyone was there except my brother Craig who is on a mission, and my cousin Angie who is on a humanitarian project in Peru. Our family has grown so much, there was almost 50 people together. See all the picts below.

happy 4th of july

11 weeks old!

Kaylie had her two month old check -up this week. She had to get five shots...it was horrible for her and me. She weighed in a almost 12 lbs. We love her chubby cheeks. I can't believe how big she is getting. These are just a few picts I took this week. See what I am talking about with the chubby cheeks? She is healthy and happy ( most of the time) and we couldn't be happier too.

what is cooking!

Has everyone had chicken rolls before? In my family we call them LaRae's chicken rolls after an aunt of my dad's. A delicious cream cheese, chicken and crescent creation. These are the itaian twist on that recipe...we will call them "little mama's chicken rolls". If you like chicken parmesean, you'll love these.

Need-
2 large chicken breast - cooked and cubed
2 cups mozerella cheese
8 oz ricotta cheese
1 tube refrigerated crescent dough
bread crumbs
1 egg
rosemary
1 jar of Ragu - or you favortie brand



Mix chicken, 1.5 cups mozerella, ricotta and a dash of rosemary together in large bowl.
Roll out crescent dough and seperate

Put a scoop of chicken mixture on each dough triangle and bring the corners together to enclose the chicken mixture.
Brush each crescent ball with egg and roll in bread crumbs.
Place on baking sheet and bake at 350 for about 15 minutes...the crescent should be begining to brown.


To serve pour a scoop of warmed Ragu over each roll and top with the remander of mozerella.

I Survived the Wasatch Back

My biggest fan was my precious little Kaylie! She was at the finish line and cheered me on all the way! I love her to death!

Well, chalk this up for one of the stupidest things I've ever done but at the same time one of the better accomplishments I've ever achieved. I ran in the Wasatch Back this past weekend which is a 12-man relay from Logan to Park City. Our firm put together a group of 12 runners (some of us very much out of shape and coming out of a long busy season) and that is how we became Team Tanner! Each runner had to run 3 different legs of the race. Our team had a 12 noon start time and we finished 27 hours and 50 minutes later! We ended up in 205th place out of 545 teams (that finished). We ended up being a little slower than our original goal, but the key fact is that we finished!!!

Here is how my three legs went:

Leg 1 - 3.4 miles in Eden, Utah: I ran my first leg around 5:30pm on Friday. It was mostly flat with just a slight uphill grade for the last mile. Overall it was a pretty easy leg compared to what others had to run but the fact that it was over 90 degrees took more out of me than I had expected. I had my music blaring at the start and thought I could run forever! About a mile into the race, I got passed by a few girls (this was a common occurrence throughout the race) and realized I wasn't all that!

Leg 2 - 7.1 miles into Henefer, Utah: I ran my second leg really early in the morning (around 2am) and loved every second of it. It was so much cooler and mostly downhill. It was the first time that I even considered running that early in the morning and it was also the first time I have ran with a headlamp on. The only real mistake I made during the 2nd leg was that I hadn't tied my shoes real tight and running downhill made my shoes slide a little each step I took and I got a couple really nice blisters on my feet which became a factor in the next leg!

Leg 3 - 6.1 miles from Charleston to Midway: My last leg was a mental challenge more than anything. I feel that I let my team down on this one because I let my blisters be an excuse to slow it down and not push it. Even though my left foot was bleeding by the end, I did have to swallow my pride and walk during the leg. In the beginning, my goal was to not walk but I couldn't help it. I had no energy left (were was my cousin Kyle when I needed him?) I ended up finishing a little slower than I wanted to but I was thrilled that I was done. I feel really bad becasue this was the one leg that Amy and Kaylie came to watch along with other members of my family. I feel bad that the one they had to watch was my worst one! Oh well.

Overall, it was a great experience and I wouldn't change it for anything. I'm actually slightly addicted to the idea of really getting into shape. That doesn't mean I'm going to go crazy and start training for marathons or anything, we all know that won't happen, but it really was fun to get out and run for a purpose.

Here are a few pictures from the race!

Team Tanner: Top Row (L to R) - Jeff Carpenter, Brad Olsen, Reed Chase, Mike Ekstrom, Jeff Bickel, Marc Metcalf, Nate Heward. Bottom Row (L to R) - Mark Erickson, Rob Anderson, Adam Tullis, Tyler Ploeger, James Hinkel

Here's a picture of my dad giving me a nice motivational speach before my Midway run. As motivational as it was, it didn't help! Sorry!

And I'm off! I borrowed a Garmin watch that showed me my pace and distance. It was a pretty cool watch to let me know when I needed to pick it up!!!

Here's a picture of me and James "the Peach" Hinkle at the finish in Park City.

Another picture at the finish line of me and Adam Tullis. It was about this time that I vowed never to run again!!!

Summer Girl!

We had a great time at the Carpenter family picnic this past weekend. It was fun to visit with everyone and be out in the beautiful weather. Here is our Kaylie spending time outside for really the first time. She had fun untill a major diaper fiasco ( that is what we will call it). Oh, well.

Roses!

When we started to landscape our backyard two years ago, we decided to plant roses against the house. So off to Lowe's to pick our plants we went. Jeff picked out two $30 yellow rose bushes, and I being the cheapskate that I am, and believing that you shouldn't have to pay for nature chose $10 bushes and tried to convince Jeff that spending that kind of money on a plant was stupid. Here are the yellow roses...and where are the ones I picked out. One died the first winter and the other the next. Oh well - I am enjoying my roses, even if it means Jeff was right and I was wrong about them.