Rigby Rundown

Connor 10 Months Old

2012-02-11T11:53:00.000-08:00

Holy Cow, time flies!!!

I couldn't decide on one picture, so I am using them all. Here is what Connor is up to at 10 Months old:

-Pulls himself up on everything

-Loves opening and closing things (more like slamming things), like the cupboard doors or doors in general

-Will walk with you using one hand (usually he won't walk unless he is holding both of your hands)

-His first word might be "Yeah." He says it all the time

-Loves to copy what we are doing.

-Eating more table foods

-Has four teeth

-Started using a sippe cup, so cute!!

-Started waving, the first time he did it I was super late to an appointment. I couldn't leave it was so cute!!

-Points at things he wants with his whole hand

Connor Playing in the Snow

2012-01-17T19:17:00.000-08:00

We got about five inches of snow in the last few days, so today Connor and I went out to play in it. It took us twenty minutes to get all bundled up and after five minutes of playing Connor was done. There was so much snow and he was so bundled that he couldn't really crawl or walk. So we got some pictures and went inside.

Connor Nine Month's Old

2012-01-17T10:40:00.001-08:00

Connor is now nine months old and so big. He is 29 inches long and weighs about 20 pounds. He is now:

-Climbing on everything.

-Doesn't want to sit, either walks or crawls.

-Starting to eat real foods, we are still learning to chew so it has been an exciting experience.

-Says mama and dada, but I don't think he knows what he is say yet. He usually says mama when he is upset and dada when he is happy... LAME

-Still only has two teeth, but his top ones are coming in anytime.

-Still makes lots of noise, especially when it is quiet (like during sacrament meeting or the city hall meeting)

-Makes new sounds everyday.

-Loves to watch Collin (the boy I nanny) and play with whatever he is playing with.

-When in a crawling position he tries to stand up by straightening his legs, but doesn't have the balance to get up yet. So then he gives up and sits down.

-Loves to walk when we hold his hands and walk with him. He will not move unless we are holding both hands. It is pretty funny.

That is all I can think of now. Stay tuned for snow pictures, we have about four inches of snow and it is still dumping.

Connor's First Christmas

2012-01-17T10:29:00.001-08:00

Connor's new skill, standing and walking along things.

He also learned how to climb the stairs on Christmas Eve

He loves to walk, as long as you are holding onto his hands.

Connor loves his new CAT toys.

Connor with Grandma Straume and Aunt DeAnne.

Connor with Grandma and Grandpa Rigby in the Rigby grandkid photo.

Connor with Uncle Matt, Aunt Kari and Baby Lucas.

Connor with Grandma and Grandpa Hall.

Connor and Grandpa Hall

Connor and Grandma Brown

It was good times for the Rigby's visiting all the family!

Connor with Santa

2012-01-17T10:26:00.000-08:00

There is a story behind the shoeless Connor. We waited in line for about 30-40 minutes and Connor did not want his shoes on. He kept taking them off. We preferred a happy Connor for the pictures than a shoed Connor :)

Family Christmas Photo

2012-01-02T12:25:00.000-08:00

Connor's First Haircut

2012-01-02T12:20:00.000-08:00

Connor's hair was getting a little long around his ears, so we decided it was time to trim. I had a really hard time not getting upset, Russ had to finish for me. My little baby is growing up. I, of course, saved the hair and it will go in his baby book.

Connor is EIGHT Months old!!

2011-12-08T14:56:00.000-08:00

Oh my goodness, I can not believe it. They grow so fast. Here is what Connor has been up to the past few weeks:

-Finally got some teeth in!! Bottom two

-Army crawling, once in a while he will try on his hands and knees.

-Can pull himself up on things, like tables, parents and chairs

-Is very determined, doesn't give up when there is something he wants

-Never stops moving

-Loves to watch people or interact with them

-Still chews on everything

-Tries to feed himself, still working on the pincer technique

-Doesn't like to be put down, bummer right. He gets over it

-Loves the mirror

-Only likes to eat fruits, or sweet foods. I'm already hiding veggies in his foods, not good.

-Still super noisy, with increased sounds everyday.

It is such a blessing to be able to stay home with my little guy. I look forward to what he learns next. Thanks to all who follow this blog.

More Standing

2011-11-11T09:44:00.001-08:00

I took these pictures this morning, with my camera rather than my phone. What a big boy!

Sometimes Connor gets mad when I take a lot of pictures of him. He gets this face that says: what are you doing you crazy person, are you done yet...?

Connor with Pacifiers

2011-11-11T09:41:00.000-08:00

Connor stopped taking a pacifier months ago, but he has found a new use for the ones we have. He chews on them, it is pretty funny.

Connor Standing

2011-11-11T09:35:00.000-08:00

Yesterday I put Connor in his crib so I could go brush my teeth, this is what I found when I came back to check on him. HOLY COW!! He pulled himself up on the side of his crib and stood up ALL BY HIMSELF!!! I was so proud and scared at the same time. He is growing up so fast, I guess it is about time to move the mattress down so he doesn't fall out.

Connor Standing at the Window

2011-11-09T14:30:00.000-08:00

Connor would rather stand than sit. He really likes to stand at the window and watch the cars drive by, or eat the window. It is a pretty fun experience for all involved.

Lunging Forward

2011-11-09T14:25:00.000-08:00

Connor starting lunging forward to get toys. We have been trying to get him to crawl to them, but this is about as close as we have gotten.

Connor Seven Months

2011-11-09T14:07:00.000-08:00

My goodness, I can not believe he is seven months already. He is growing so fast and getting more and more active each day. Here is what he has been up to lately:

-Sitting up like a champ, and can now look around and behind himself without falling over.

-Has started eating solids twice a day.

-Laughs at himself and us when we do something silly.

-Starting to use a pacifier, as a teether

-Is truly starting to teethe - he has been drooling non-stop for four months, so we thought he was teething this whole time, but now he is starting to show signs of pain.

-Puts everything in his mouth.

-Lunges forward into a crawling position

-Will scoot a little while sitting and in the crawling position

-Remembers where things are - when searching for a toy or when something is always there and then removed.

-Is super noisy - babbles and Russ swears that he says dada

-Looks around at everything, will push you away if you are in

the way of what he is looking at

-Tries to suck on our faces and does raspberries

-Will stand by himself if holding onto something, like his crib.

-Pulls himself up on things into a standing position.

That's our sweet boy. He is so fun to play with and watch him learn new things everyday!

Reading with Daddy

2011-11-09T13:53:00.000-08:00

This is another part of the bedtime routine. I just thought it was so cute, Connor looking at the book and then he looks up at Russ. This is my favorite part of putting Connor to sleep.

Bath Time Fun

2011-11-09T12:36:00.001-08:00

Connor loves taking baths. We started them daily as part of his bedtime routine. We gave him his rubber ducks a few weeks ago and he LOVES them. If we don't put them in the bath with him right away he gets upset. One night he just leaned back, relaxed with his arm over the little tub, and started sucking on a duck. Here is our censored photo:

Connor Laughing

2011-10-14T19:29:00.000-07:00

I was playing with Connor the other day and found out that he is ticklish...
Here is a little video of him cracking up, it is so so adorable!!

Eating Solids...

2011-10-14T18:50:00.000-07:00

Connor has begun to eat some solid foods. I think it has been more fun for me to make the baby food then it should. He seems to enjoy it as well, so that is good. We were able to get some pictures and video of the first few feedings. I hope you enjoy. So far Connor has had avocado, pears and cereal. The next thing on the menu is bananas and green beans, or sweet potatoes... we will see.

Connor is SIX months old...!!!

2011-10-10T21:15:00.000-07:00

Oh my goodness, I can not believe it has already been six months. He is growing up so fast and getting too big. We just got back from his six month doctor appointment and he is 16 lbs 11oz and is 27.5 inches long.
He now:
-Scoots along the floor (Russ keeps trying to teach him to crawl, against my wishes... ;)
-Shakes his head no all the time, but doesn't know what he is saying. We were in the store the other day and a lady told him he was adorable and he shook his head no.
-Has started solid foods, so far rice cereal and avocado.
-He can sit up now with ease.
-Tries to put everything in his mouth.
-Is beginning to learn to pass items from one hand to the other.
-Is drooling a lot, but still doesn't have any teeth.
-Has begun to sleep through the night.
-Is learning to put himself to sleep.

Connor is Officially Sitting Up

2011-09-12T12:35:00.001-07:00

Yay, Connor is officially sitting up. I took this video this morning. We have been working on sitting up all week. He usually needed help and would fall over right away. He finally sat up all by himself. Our next goal is for him to get himself in the sitting position.

Connor Checking Out His Hands

2011-09-07T15:28:00.000-07:00

Lately Connor has been checking out his hands. He looks at them as if he is trying to decide what to do with them. It is so adorable. Every time I try to catch him doing it on video he gets camera shy. But this time I got him... lol

Our New Dining Room Table

2011-09-07T14:02:00.001-07:00

Russell finally sanded and refinished our dining room table. So not really a new table, it just looks brand new!!! He did a fabulous job and worked really hard to get it to look this great.

Connor Five Months Old

2011-09-07T12:15:00.000-07:00

Has started spitting to keep himself entertained, I think he learned it from his cousin... :)

Rolls around like crazy

No longer takes a pacifier

Teething has become more dramatic - more crying, less sleeping and eating

Likes to eat his feet

Tries to sit up when he is lying down and ends up rolling over instead

Rolls all over the place

Sucks on anything you put near his mouth

Likes bath time, he kicks like crazy and gets Mom all wet

Continues to jump all the time, even when you are holding him

He tries to use his legs to crawl, but he doesn't have the arms figured out yet (thank goodness)

Loves watching motion

Connor Four Months Old

2011-08-24T19:58:00.000-07:00

This one is a little late, but August is always so busy with vacations. But better late than never... right.

Laughs at himself when he is playing.

Has become way more active.

Can sit up assisted.

Can stand up when holding him (and prefers it over sitting), but he is super wobbly.

Likes to jump/kick (we got him a johnny jumper)

Screams when he is happy and sad, it makes it hard to know what to do.

Drools and chews on everything, or rather puts everything in his mouth.

Starting to teethe.

Smiles when he is sleeping

Is becoming easier to read how he is feeling.

Rolls over a lot more now and is starting to scoot around the floor.

This is Connor with his girlfriend Annika.

Stay tuned for five months...

DC Trip

2011-07-19T12:28:00.000-07:00

Wow, I know. I totally forgot to post pictures from our DC trip. Again, better late than never... :) We went to Washington DC at the end of June for Jeff's (Russ's oldest brother) wedding. We decided to go a little early and experience DC and celebrate our four year anniversary.

This is one of Washington's statutes inside the U.S. capitol. We were given a tour by one of Patty Murray's interns. We met in the Russell Senate office building (see below) and took an underground train to the capitol. On the train we ran into John Kerry.

This is Russell's building.

Connor did not like this photo. The snake may have scared him.Connor really liked watching the fish swim around. This was in one of the museums.

There was a great exhibit of photography. The pictures were amazing and it was fun to pose in front of them.

The Capitol Building

The White House, it was a lot more difficult to get to than I thought. It was a really hot and humid day and we got a little lost trying to find it.

This was a cool height measurement in the gift shop at the Bureau of Printing and Engraving. Russ measured 1,631,000 in 100$ notes, Connor only measured about $100,000.

Here is Connor next to the new hundred dollar bill that is coming out soon.

Russ and Connor in the space ship

These are the old desks and chamber where Congress met.

This is at Arlington National Cemetery. Connor and I in front of the Tomb of the Lost Soldiers.

Here is the changing of the guard, there were a ton of people there. I got in trouble because I was trying to see what was going on and kneeled down between some people and they told me that was disrespectful. So I got back up and felt bad.

Connor Rolls Over

2011-07-19T12:22:00.000-07:00

Connor is rolling over. It is really funny, he hates being on his tummy and can't roll back over. So he wiggles around like a fish. Now we can not leave him anywhere by himself. I will put him in his crib while I change and then I hear him start whimpering and find that he had rolled over and can't get back. It's fairly amusing.

Connor, Maren and Aiden

2011-07-08T15:37:00.000-07:00

Our good friends Luke and Lindsey also had a baby two days after Connor was born. Her name is Maren. They are already the best of friends. We were over visiting with them and David and Cody and got some pictures. David and Cody have an 18 month son, named Aiden and they were all playing.

Fourth Of July Weekend

2011-07-08T15:01:00.000-07:00

This was Connor's first year in the Lake Cavanaugh Parade. Grandpa drives the the fire truck and Connor was able to get some pictures with his Great Grandpa.

Here is Connor drooling all over his Lake Cavanaugh Shirt. I don't know why the picture keeps turning sideways. But it is still adorable with his sideways hat.

Here is Connor on his first paddle boat ride. On the first one he fell asleep the whole time, the next one he was able to look around and have fun.Connor also took his first dip in the lake. He really liked his life jacket and sucked on the edges. Here is the video from his first dip. It is a family tradition to dip the babies in the lake. I have this picture of my mom dipping me in the lake and I started screaming!! Connor was like whatever, this is no big deal. Then we went in the hot tub to warm up and he didn't mind at all. He is so laid back.

This was so cute. All of the shoes were lined up at the front door, including Connor's little sandals.

This weekend we also celebrated Jake's 16th birthday. I can't believe my little brother is actually driving. He stopped by to show us his license on the 5th, the first day he was able to get this license. He was driving around everywhere. We are so proud of him!

Connor Watching T.V.

2011-07-08T14:57:00.000-07:00

I was folding laundry and Connor was laying on the bed and started watching the movie I had on. So I put him in his chair and let him enjoy watching Wall-E. It was awesome and I was able to get the laundry done too.

Connor Three Months Old

2011-07-08T14:37:00.000-07:00

-Has started to suck on his thumb (against my wishes and constant trying to get him to stop)

-Likes to be held more often (ever since our DC trip when he was held the whole time)

-Will fall asleep by himself occasionally

-Drools a lot

-Can sit up with some help

-Can hold his head up without wobbling

-Rolls over from back to front (he gets upset when he is on his back, so we are not sure why he keeps rolling over... ;)

-Likes to grab cloths and put them in his mouth

-Eats like crazy

-Likes to watch television (or at least observe the movements on the television)

Connor Two Months Old

2011-05-26T14:04:00.000-07:00

-Never stops moving (as you can see in the picture, I couldn't get him to stop kicking enough to take the picture.)
-He has to be swaddled for him to stay asleep, otherwise he wakes himself up.

-Will sit or lay and entertain himself for a little while.

-Makes a lot more coos and grunts

-Doesn't like to give into sleep, has to be rocked with a pacifier.

-Doesn't like to sleep with a pacifier.

-Will put himself to sleep at night.

-Gets upset if you don't change his diaper right away.

-Sucks on his hands a lot

-Has started to sleep through the night

-Still doesn't like to be held when he is playing.

Baby's First Bath

2011-05-26T13:54:00.001-07:00

If you can see Connor did not like his first bath. He didn't feel supported, like he was going to fall or be dropped. We tried to soothe him with his pacifier, but no luck. His second bath was a little more successful. He didn't really cry, just a little whimpering. When I was taking him out he really got mad and started crying. I think he got a little cold, so I tried to console him before we got him dressed and dry him off a little bit, this is how he repaid me...

Now he is starting to like baths. He doesn't cry at all and kicks his feet in the water. Which just annoys me, getting water all over the place.

Connor One Month Old

2011-05-26T13:32:00.000-07:00

Connor was a month old on May 8, 2011.

He likes to stare at things, especially our ceiling fan. Who needs toys, we have a fan.
He will sit in his high chair and make faces at us and sit happy for a little while.
When he is held he holds his head up looking around.
Doesn't really like to cuddle or anything
Doesn't like tummy time, he cries anytime I make him do it
Has started smiling when we smile at him
Makes coos and grunts a lot
Is a really noisy sleeper
Doesn't like to be swaddled
Wakes up about three times a night
Gets upset if we wait too long to change his diaper

Funny Faces

2011-05-26T13:12:00.000-07:00

Lately Connor has been making some really funny faces.

Right now he has this schedule where he wakes up, eats and then is really happy and playful. About 30-60 minutes later he gets crabby because he is tired and goes to sleep. And then it starts over again.

This face means you are a freak and I don't know what you think is so funny.

This face means he is scared of the faces I am making at him.

Kari and Matt's Wedding

2011-05-21T10:28:00.000-07:00

My Aunt Kari got married on April 30th to Matt Lucas. He is super cool and I am so excited for them. Keep in mind that Connor was 3 weeks old so my body was not back to normal yet and I had to be fitted for the dress about a week after giving birth. Kari looked beautiful of course and that is all that mattered. My mom, me and Kari's friend Lynette were the bridesmaids. The morning started with getting our hairand makeup done at Gene Juarez and then going to Country Village to get dressed and for the wedding. Followed by pictures and breast feeding :) The ceremony was beautiful. My Uncle Chris married them and my brother's girlfriend, Lindsey, sang a song for them. Everyone cried during the rehearsal, but I was able to control the tears until the actual day. I totally lost it and then lost it again during my mom's toast to the married couple. At the salon the girls told us that no one was allowed to cry or all of the make up would run down the faces. Oh well. After the ceremony we had the toasts, lots of food and the cake cutting followed by a lot of dancing. It was super fun and gorgeous. I was able to get some video of the dancing:

Baby Photo Shoot

2011-05-21T10:19:00.000-07:00

When Connor was a week old we went down to Vancouver for a photo shoot. My sister in law took the pictures in her mini studio. Everyone was able to meet the little guy too which was nice since we don't get to see them very often.

He Has Arrived

2011-05-19T14:25:00.000-07:00

Connor arrived on 4/8/11 at 7:55am at Providence Hospital in Everett, WA. He weighed 7lbs, 11 oz. I had a OB appointment on the 7th and they determined that my blood pressure was too high and that combined with how swollen I was they sent me to triage to be induce. By the time they ordered the pitocin to induce me my water broke. Apparently I caused some stress to the baby by weeding my flower beds (I was trying to induce labor...) and he pooped in the sack. So when my water broke it was green, good thing I was at the hospital already. If that would have happened at home I would have freaked out! I labored throughout the night not sleeping at all. Neither did my mom, Russ or my friend Cody. They were all there to help me. I reached 10cm dilated and started pushing at 6:55am and he was born an hour later. Because he pooped in the sack there was a respiratory team in my room too, it seemed like there were 20 people in my room, but it was probably more like ten. They took Connor right over to the baby station to check him out. He was wheezing a little bit, so they decided to take him to the NICU. I was able to hold him for a few minutes before they took him. I was being stitched up by the doctor. Connor was posterior with

the cord wrapped around his neck. But he is fine, just tore me up a bit. By they time I was all cleaned up and back in bed Russ and Connor came back from the NICU. He was only there for about 45 minutes, but it totally freaked me out. We stayed in the hospital until the next afternoon and then were released. Thank goodness, we were really ready to leave and that he was finally here. Here are some pictures:

Pregnancy Photos

2011-03-14T07:27:00.001-07:00

My sister in law came up for a baby shower and took some pregnancy pictures of me. She is the bestest ever!!! I know these are kind of late, but I have to post in order. Hopefully Connor will cooperate and I can post more soon...

IT'S A BOY

2010-12-03T07:04:00.001-08:00

So we finally found out the sex of the baby. It took three trips to the doctor's office and four different technians, but we finally found out. IT'S A BOY!!! We are super excited. We are still working on the name. We had the girls name all ready to go, so naturally we were given a boy.

We are Pregnant!!!

2010-09-21T07:04:00.000-07:00

Yay, we are going to be having a baby in April. It (since we do not yet know the sex of the baby) is due on April 6th. Most of my family believes it is going to be a girl, but we shall see. I am 12 weeks a long this week and that ultrasound is at the 18 week mark. So November I should have an update. Here is one of the 10 week ultrasound pictures. Russell and my mom were able to come to this ultrasound and see what was going on inside me. The heart and little arms and feet were moving like crazy. But it's head is still bigger than it's body... which makes it look kinda like a jellybean with arms...

We Bought a HOUSE!!!

2010-09-21T06:57:00.000-07:00

I am almost up to date on all of my posts. We purchased a house in August 2010. We had been looking for a while and were not having any luck. This house came up a couple of times in my search, but I wasn't drawn to it. Finally, my realtor said "what about this one..." We toured the property and I knew it was perfect. Here are a couple of shots of the house. The house is three bedrooms upstairs, with the kitchen and living area and the downstairs is a big rec room area with it's own bathroom. Currently Jesse (my brother) and his girlfriend, Lindsey, are living downstairs. We are hoping that we could turn the space into another two bedrooms or one huge master bedroom. That of course is years down the road, but we are super excited.... except homeowning is definitely a lot more exhausting than I thought it would be.

What a Scary Day!!!

2010-09-18T21:22:00.000-07:00

We went to Goldendale for the annual Hoctor Family Reunion and the boys decided they were going to shoot some guns. Yikes... enough said!!!

Steven and Raime's Wedding

2010-09-18T20:43:00.000-07:00

Russell's youngest brother, Steven, was married July 10th. We went down for the wedding, since Russell was one of the groomsmen so he helped plan out the "Bachelor Party." They dressed Steven up in funny clothes, most of which were his mother's clothes from high school and took him out bowling. He is wearing a goofy hat, a skirt, a tie, a scarf and his shirt said something about a naughty girls college and how to attend. Then they came back to the house to play rootbeer pong. It was very entertaining.

The wedding was beautiful. They were sealed in the Portland temple for all time and eternity. And then we took pictures outside the temple. The Portland Temple is by far one of the prettiest temples I have seen.

Here is Matt's wife, Amanda and Peggy (Russ's aunt) at the temple. We were all waiting for our turn in the pictures and decided to take some of ourselves. And one with Matt and Kayla, I have never seen this good of a smile from Matt. Someone must of said something funny for him to laugh that hard.

Here is the next wedding we will be attending on the Rigby side of the family. Russ's older brother, Jeff, is getting married June of 2011. So Erin flew out with Jeff to meet the family. He proposed about a week after this event. But she is super awesome and I am so excited to have another girl in the family. She also caught the bouquet at the wedding reception, so naturally Jeff proposed later... :)Here are some other good pictures that I took at the wedding. This is one of Nathan and his son Jared. And one of Russ with all of the guys, most of whom are groomsmen. This is the final picture because it totally describes the entire weekend, which included Rigby Naps, lots of running around and tons of fun. Yay for Steven and Raime, CONGRATS!!!

Fourth of July

2010-09-18T20:21:00.000-07:00

Okay, I know... this is a really late post. But there are somethings I really want to post and I can't post out of order. So after our anniversary trip we went to my Grandparents house at Lake Cavanaugh. The weather was not the greatest, but we still had lots of fun. We BBQed of course and ate too much food. There is a parade every year that goes about 200 yards for the kids and families to walk with the fire truck and everything. It was lots of fun when we were growing up and now it is just fun to watch the little kiddies have fun. Everyone gets all dressed up and decorate their bikes or carts. My grandpa drives the fire truck every year. This year they had a new fire truck so he had lots of fun.
When we came back to the cabin this is what we found. My mom was dancing... at least I think that is what she was doing. It was very interesting and entertaining.

We also took a family picture, which I don't think we have really had since Jake was a baby. It was really nice since everyone was there and we had the tripod so everyone could be in it.

The fireworks seem to get better and better each year. There is a guy who lives a few houses down that sells fireworks, so anything leftover he lights off. It is always very impressive. Here are some of the shots I got with my camera. It was my first year taking the pictures, but I thought they turned out okay.

Anniversary Vacation

2010-07-25T17:55:00.000-07:00

This year for our anniversary trip we went to Birch Bay, Washington. We used to live in Bellingham, WA for six years and I had never really been up there. I went up once with my family, but we didn't do any of the sights. Our first stop was the Birch Bay Waterslides. Here is a picture of us with my bestest friend Kim and her husband, Ryan.

We stayed at the Trendwest Resort up there (Thanks to my parents). We were able to go hiking and walk down to the state park there. Here are some pictures from our hike at the state park. I cut down this tree all by myself and am proud of it... :) And this is Russell "hiking!" He looked so cute that I had to take a picture.

We went down to the beach like everyday. We played bocce ball down there and it was a fun challenge, lots of obstacles. We drew a picture in the sand on our anniversary to commemorate our three years of marriage. We also went out to the resturant where we celebrated our engagement the day Russell proposed.

While we were up in Birch Bay we were able to go up to the temple in Vancouver, BC. It was just built up there and we were able to do some sealings for family.

All in all it was a great trip. Stay tuned, more posts to come.

Graduation BBQ

2010-06-15T21:07:00.000-07:00

Here are some pictures from the end of the year BBQ for Russ's grad program. He just finished up the program at University of Washington. He met some great people and we had a lot of fun. Here are some of the people that attended this feast. The food was provided by Selma and her family. They treated us with some authentic Bosnian dishes. Her mom is a chef and the food was amazing. Other people also brought native dishes from China and Afghanistan. It was great!!!

Here is Russ with some of the people from the program. To the right is Russ, Bobby and Paul. They were in Russ's study group with them and are super fun to be around.

They are really smart too, which is always nice to have in a study group.

This is Russ with Karen, she was in the program with him and will be working at Bader Martin starting in July. Yay!!!

The BBQ was a hit, there were lots of people, tons of food and great weather. We were super lucky!

The swing was the place to be, first Gilad and Grant were cuddling. They are the best of friends and an awesome team.

Following the cuddling session it was time for tea!!! Gilad, Emily and Grant enjoyed some Bosnian coffee. Pinky's up!!

The Flight Home

2010-06-13T18:50:00.000-07:00

The wedding in Houston was beautiful and we had so much fun, but rarely slept. So I was really excited to get onto the plane and take a good five hour nap on the way home. Well the airport had other plans for us. We got there okay and walked everyone that was on the Vancouver flight to their gate and then headed back to ours. We boarded the plane and got all comfortable. I had my flying pillow propped up against the window, when all of a sudden the flight attendant got on the intercom and told us we were going to be delayed a bit because they couldn't get the air conditioning to work properly. I leaned over to Russ and said "yeah right, I bet the engine is broken and they don't want us to freak out." Next thing we know they tell us that we have to get off the plane and board another one. Ah man!!! So we packed up all of our stuff and got off the plane. We were suppose to be reboarded 45 mins later, but you know that didn't happen so 80 mins later we were finally able to get back on the plane and fly home. It was really annoying, I am just glad that it was an day flight and not a night flight. Otherwise we would have gotten back super late and might have caused even more problems. Here are some pictures of how we felt when we were in the airport waiting to get back on the plane.

Matt and Amanda's Wedding

2010-06-13T18:24:00.000-07:00

Over Memorial Day weekend we flew to Houston, Texas to be apart of Matt's (Russell's brother) wedding. He married this amazing girl, who is very gifted and fun to be around.
He met her online and they started talking and hit it off and are now married. She lived in Texas and he lived in Colorado. They got married in Texas and then moved to Colorado.

Here are some pictures from the wedding. Russell and I were both able to be in the wedding party and help out.

This is Matt and Amanda as they were coming out of the temple as a married couple. They are so cute.

Here is Sarah (Russ's sister) with her two kids, Jared and Kayla.

Russ was so cute holding the baby, here he is with his sister and another one with her daughter Kayla.

Here are the guys being guys. All of the brothers were groomsmen and their wives or significant others were bridesmaids. It was super fun and we all looked great.

Memorial Service

2010-05-22T19:55:00.000-07:00

My Great Uncle Charles pasted away in April and we had his memorial service on May 14th. It was a great service and really good to see everyone on that side of the family. Here are some of the pictures from the after party:

Here is Grandma Brown with too many beers. What can I say, it was a really great party!

This is Natasha and her daughter Avery, I didn't even know that she had another baby. She was so adorable, whenever you ask her who the princess is she would raise her hand.

This is Aunt Neva with Aunt Suchie.

And here is one of Jennifer and Wayne. They live in California and had not seen me since I was still in grade school. It was really fun to see them.

I FINALLY got a good picture of cousin Debbie and Jim. Every time I seem to take a picture of them they are making funny faces.

Here is Grandma and Grandpa Brown (after all of the beers... haha).

Dad and Diane posed for a picture too.

Funerals are so bitter sweet. It is a great time to remember family and the time that we get to spend together while we are here.

Congrats Matt and Kari

2010-05-11T06:39:00.000-07:00

My Aunt Kari is getting MARRIED!! She has been dating Matt for about a year or two and he popped the question right before heading off on their Cancun trip.

They haven't set a date yet, but will probably be sometime in the fall. It all kind of depends on what venue will fit the amount of people they will be inviting. Matt has a pretty big family.

This is a picture of Matt with Poco, Kari's dog. Poco loves Matt, I think sometimes more than Kari. So he passed the test :)

Mother's Day and B-Day Parties

2010-05-11T06:21:00.000-07:00

We went over to my mom's house for Mother's Day and celebrated all of the moms and Russell's and my birthdays. Here is a picture of all of the moms - DeAnne (my Aunt), Shelley (my Mom) and Lenore (my Grandma). It was very fun to see everyone and eat such great food.

We got some great stuff for our birthday's too... Here is Russ with our new clapper. Haha, we are so lazy that we need this in order to turn off the lights before we go to bed. It has been working great so far.

This is what my mom got for Mother's Day from my little brother (and probably a little Geir too). They tore out all of the grass in the front yard and adding landscaping instead. It looks so much better. The plants in the front are suppose to grow about 5-6 ft tall and will make the little sitting area secluded.

Overall it was an great day and amazing weekend.

10K Fever!!

2010-05-08T21:00:00.000-07:00

This weekend was our 10k race. Steven and Raime came up to run it with us. Steven wasn't able to run the race with us because he has gout on his knee. So he decided to sit this one out. It was a painful race, but Russ came in FIRST in his age group and I took SECOND in my age group!!! We saw lots of fun people there racing with us and got some fun pictures.

These are my racing buddies, Natalie (with her sister) and Sheri (with her kids). They rocked the race too!!

Here are our before race pictures, and the starting race line. This was the 10k racers all lined up ready for take off.

Here we are about a 1/4 mile into the race. At this point we were still willing to smile and give thumbs up. Near the end I was not willing to do anything but barely lift my feet off the ground.

Here is our after race photo, we are a lot more tired than we look, I promise.

After the race we ate some great pizza at Garlic Jim's and then relaxed our legs in the hot tub. After a much needed shower we went down to Marina Beach in Edmonds and had a little BBQ and took some fun pictures.

Annie and Herbert

2010-05-02T18:30:00.000-07:00

Today we met Herbert, Annie Wilcox new HUSBAND!!! Yay, they were married a week ago and are on their way to FLORDIA. They are going to spend the summer there while Herbert works and then move to Idaho to finish up two years of school.

It was so good to see them and get to hear more about the past year and what their plans for the future are. We wish them the very best!!!

They are such a cute couple and compliment each other perfectly!!!

Russell's Birthday

2010-04-22T07:14:00.000-07:00

So not much has happened from Christmas to Russ's Birthday. Except study and taking the CPA tests. But there are not any fun pictures that can go with that.
Here are some pictures from Russ's birthday, he turned the big 25. The only good thing about this age is that our car insurance premiums go down, wahoo!!

We went for a walk down to a local park and took some fun pictures and then came back and had some cake/rice crispy treats.

I went out and bought these candles the other day and didn't really pay attention to the type of candles they were, they were just the cheapest. Well they turned out to be the type that relight themselves... oops. It was pretty amusing watching him try to blow out the candles over and over again.

I'll just say it didn't work out so well for Russell, but I thought it was hilarious!!!

Christmas

2010-04-22T06:39:00.000-07:00

Sorry this is like four months late, but I have to catch up.

Christmas this year was crazy. On Christmas Eve we went to my Aunt Terri's house in Carnation and had the classic Hall Christmas dinner of pizza. After we opened presents we had the annual Christmas Wrapping Paper Fight. I caught some cool pictures of the action.

Then on Christmas Day we woke up and went to my mom's house in Edmonds and had breakfast and opened presents. While we all enjoyed our loot, Christmas dinner was cooking. After we ate dinner we had our annual food coma enduced after Christmas dinner nap. It was pretty amazing.

Then we raced over to Russ's parents house on Christmas night. All of his family came home for Christmas, so we spent the rest of the weekend with them. It was fun to see everyone again and eat so much amazing food! We were also able to take family photo, which was really fun and entertaining.

Happy Thanksgiving

2009-12-08T06:05:00.000-08:00

No Thanksgiving would be complete without a Turkey Bowl. Russ and Steven (his brother) were on one of the teams and I was on the other team. Obviously I played harder, because our team WON!!! This picture is the aftermath of playing in the pouring down rain and mud. It was a lot of fun.

On Friday, Pam, Raime (Steven's new girlfriend) and I went Black Friday shopping. I know, we are crazy. We went to Wal-Mart, Target, JoAnn's and Fred Meyer. I think the worst place was Wal-Mart and Target. But the good news is that we got all of the things we set out for.

Saturday we went to the Festival of Trees at the Red Lion Hotel in Vancouver, Washington. Here is a picture of one of the trees that was decorated with a Santa's Reindeer and sled. It was a lot of fun, there was a little stage where we did a little dancing and picture posing. We also got to sit on Santa's lap and take pictures.

Here are all of us with Santa. The first one is of Pam and Frank Rigby, Russ's parents. Then there is Russ and me. And then Raime and Steven.

After the Festival of Trees we went home to play games. We played Perudo and the guys were totally insensitive and kicked our butts. Here is a picture that I took with my new digital camera of how bad they beat us. I was orange, Pam was green and Raime was black. It was not a good day for women. Now that I have a good, fun camera, I should be posting more. We shall see, of course.

Russell Got A Job

2009-10-21T21:14:00.000-07:00

So Russ was contacted over the summer by a tax firm called Bader Martin. He met them at a tax recruting event about six months before and didn't really think anything of it. However, they emailed him regarding an interview for a tax summer internship. That worked out really well for us, since we were going to be moving down to the area for school in the fall. Apparently he made a good impression on them there and they offered him a full time position for when he graduates from the University of Washington. YAY!!!!!! Russell finally got a job after two and a half years of living off me... hah, just kidding. He always calls me his sugar mama, but he will soon be my sugar daddy! So he will graduate in June and start working on July 13th 2010. We are so excited that we will finally be done with school and can start being grown ups... :) Who knows what will come after that... stay tuned!

Mariner's Game

2009-09-26T16:17:00.000-07:00

Here is Russ and me at the Mariner's game. A guy at Russ's work had season tickets and he could not go, so he gave them to Russell. They were the 13th row right along the first base line. It was so fun, and being so close we could actually see what was going on in the game. I think I watched more of this game than of any other I have been to or watched on T.V. We felt all grown up that we were sitting with a bunch of season ticket holders.

Here are some of the pictures of the players. We had such a good time, but they did lose, so that was a little sad!

Seattle Underground Tour

2009-09-26T07:52:00.000-07:00

We went on the Seattle Underground Tour a few weeks ago (look I am almost caught up with all of my blogging). It is kinda funny how you live in a place your whole life, but don't go do all of the touristy things. So we finally decided to go on the tour of the first Seattle that was built with David and Cody Koenig. We had not seen David and Cody since they left for Honduras about a year before, so it was really good to catch up with them.

This is a picture from the tour of a crapper, as they use to call them after the creator. Apparently they didn't really have the sewer system set up very well, so they dumpped all of the waste into the ocean. But when the tide came up they would have all the sewer waste floating on the streets. Pretty gross!

Seattle burned to the ground from a glue fire. And instead of rebuilding the city the government built on top of it. However, the business owners did not do this so when the streets were a 10 feet above their entrances, there was a little problem. So they built the sidewalks as you see below. With the skylights to provide light for the sidewalks. This one you could still see people walking on it from above and how it would provide light for the walk. There is a lot more to the history, so you should really go on the tour, it was very informative and fun.

Casey Goes to Montana

2009-09-20T20:11:00.001-07:00

In August I went to Montana with my Mom, Geir, Jake and my grandparents. Russ was suppose to come with us, but he got a job and that was a little more important. I didn't get a lot of pictures, but here is one of Jake and Sami. She is the family MONSTER dog. We went swimming

together and she thought I didn't know how to swim or something. I jumped off the dock and she jumped after me. And then she decided to drag me into shore by my arm and thumb. The brusing did not go away for about a month. It was actually kinda scary, she is a little bit stronger than me and nither of us could touch the ground at that time.

Later we went to Glacier and I got some good pictures of the wildlife. Geir and I went walking around trying to find a some other wildlife or something. But all we could find were these mountain goats that were not scared of us at all. Some were even walking along the trail with us.

2 Year Anniversary - Baker Lake

2009-09-11T22:17:00.001-07:00

Alright, I am getting closer to the present. See I took all the pictures off my camera finally and they have all these different things that we have been doing this summer. With the move and everything it has been really hard to blog. So I am doing all of them right now, or this weekend...

Two Years Baby... and going strong!!!For our two year anniversary we decided to go camping, we both love camping. We found a beautiful campsite near Mt. Baker, on Baker Lake. Our spot was right by the beach and there were day campsites next to us on either side, so it was very secluded and fun!!

Here is our view from the campsite... we got the water and the mountain view. It was really amazing, because there were different views of the mountain around different parts of the lake.

Here is our actual campsite... Our cool tent that we got for the wedding and the amazing fire that Russ built even though it was so so windy... Yay for my little Eagle Scout.

We found a really cool rope swing and this tree where I carved in our initals and year that were went there to commorate our trip. We jumped off the rope swing several times into the coldest water I have ever been in...

Here is Russ the PYRO!! Flame on!!!

I am a pyro too, but I took all the pictures, so Russ has to be the pyro in the pictures....!!

Graduation and the Hike

2009-09-11T08:30:00.000-07:00

This is late too, I know we suck... we have had a busy summer. No excuses, but you have to be proud that I actually have pictures of stuff. I actually remembered to bring my camera some of the time.

Here to the right is the family walking to Russell's and my (late) graduation. Apparently you can walk whenever you want. When I graduated I had way too much stuff going on with still student teaching and working and helping my mom plan Russ and my wedding that I decided that I just didn't have time to walk at my graduation.

But it worked out because Russ made it possible for me to walk with him at his graduation. It was so much fun.

Nathan (our brother-in-law) was our professional photographer, he took some excellent shots of the graduation and of Russ and me together after the graduation. He took all the pictures on the post. THANK YOU NATHAN!

After the graduation we had a picnic at a local park to celebrate. My mom, grandma and brother Jake came from my family and Pam, Frank, Sarah, Jared, Nathan, and in the belly Kayla came from Russell's family. It was a lot of fun.

After the picnic Russ's family wanted to go for a little hike, so we went somewhere along Chuckanut to climb to a scenic viewpoint. It was a lot of fun too... Jared was sleeping at this point of the trip on Uncle Russ.

But when he woke up he was very happy and excited to be on uncle Russ's shoulders.

WWU Regatta

2009-09-10T20:51:00.000-07:00

Sorry this is so so so late...

Russ and I went to a Western Washington University rowing regatta vs. Puget Sound. It was a pretty intense race, WWU barely won.

We were pretty suprised at this since they are the NCAA Division II defending champions four years in a row. The varsity 8 won, but is was very close and a couple of the JV boats lost.

However, as we now see they were just warming up for the championships.... and WON AGAIN!!!

That's right, we rock!! FIVE YEARS IN A ROW BABY!

Way To Go Russell!!!!!

2009-05-05T21:17:00.000-07:00

Today we found out that Russell is in the Top 10 students in the Accounting program at Western Washington University in the College of Business and Economics. They are going to honor him and all of the other students and accounting awards at a banquet in the middle of May.

It is a dinner that he usually goes to each year, but this year he is invited to go for free!! Which of course we love. So this means that Russell is amazing and will graduate with a extra award.
We are very proud and happy for Russell and all he has accomplished. Oh and he starts at Lowe's tomorrow, so when I told him to get a job... he really did go get one. I love how motivated he is!!

Life is Crazy

2009-05-04T20:32:00.000-07:00

Life at Washington Mutual is crazy!!! Construction has commenced and is going... Hopefully we will have carpet tomorrow. Today it seemed like we were working in a warehouse, it was echoey and cold. Some places they were able to get all of the tile off the floor, but others they could not get the glue stuff off, so the floor is not even flat. It made it really hard to walk on especially if you were wearing heels or using a cane. Anyways, so now we have a teller drawer and give out money instead of printing a receipt and having the customers pick up the cash. It is a lot different, but we all love it and the customers seem to like it too. And they don't get as confused anymore, which is nice.
Russell is still doing great in school and will get A's this quarter, even though he doesn't think so. We still plan on him going to the University of Washington, he is already making connections so that he can get a job for the fall of 2010. He is the best husband ever. He also got a job offer from Lowe's for the rest of the school year and the summer. When he told me it cost $17,000 for his grad school next year, I told him to GET A JOB!! We shall see where things go from here...

Kim and Ryan VanderVeen

2009-04-06T21:07:00.000-07:00

I finally got some pictures from an unknown source from the wedding. All of my pictures did not turn out too well and I didn't get to take any at the reception.

Here is the beautiful couple coming out of the temple after they were just sealed for all time and eternity.

Oh, and did I mention that is snowed all day and night before the wedding day. It was a little cold so Kim was able to wear a little coat to keep warm.

It did make for some really great pictures, with all of the snow, it was a winter wonderland.

Here are the pictures that mysteriously showed up on our door today. These are at the reception. Russell and I were part of the bridal party, that is why I have a wonderful blue dress and he has a cool blue vest. We were not the same color because I "walked down the aisle" with Ryan's brother and Russell walked with Kacee (Kim's best friend).

My hair totally died by this point and I did not care. Everything was very beautiful, and as always it went way too fast.

Our Future...

2009-04-06T20:49:00.000-07:00

So it has been a while since I have last written... sorry about that. Lots has happened, so let me catch you up. Russell has been accepted to the University of Washington's accounting masters program. Apparently it is really hard to get into or something, they only accept 45 people to the program a year, so I am very proud of him. So since he will be going to school there and probably getting an internship there for next winter we are going to be staying in Bellingham. I know it makes so much sense. We just feel like it is not our time to move away from all that is going on here. I finally have a job that I look forward to going to each day and don't want to destroy everyone I come in contact with. Anyways, Russell is going to drive to Everett each day and take a bus into Seattle for school. It is only four days a week so at least it won't be so bad and he is already driving to Everett each day for his internship, so it won't be much of a change for him. He will be able to do homework on the bus both ways.
As for my job/life... we are starting the conversion process. We have the new uniforms started and the training for the new systems have begun. It is going to be a long process that is suppose to be done by this summer, but who knows. It sure keeps things interesting.
We sure are excited for the spring weather we have had these past three days, hopefully it is here to stay. Russell and I have been wanting to try out our new tennis rackets. That is all for now, we shall see what the future has in store for us.

New Jobs

2008-10-27T19:53:00.000-07:00

So today was my first day of work at Washington Mutual (a.k.a. Chase). It was awesome, the people were great and the work so much more relaxing. A very nice change from T-Mobile. The people were really nice there too, but you never got to talk to any of them. It also has all the same perks as T-Mobile, included discounted rates for home loans, which will come in handy.

The other good news is that Russ also go a new job, or a job offer for the winter. He will be working at Hascal and Sjoholm accounting firm in Everett. It is the biggest firm in Everett, but it is the only office. They are definitely growing though, as this is the first year they started actively looking for interns at Western. He will be there for the tax season and then they also usually have the interns work a couple of hours a week while in school.

We are really excited about the new jobs that we both have and hopefully things will continue to work out. Hopefully we will be able to update you soon on things that are going on.

Cattle Herding in Goldendale

2008-09-29T08:51:00.001-07:00

Welcome to Goldendale!! While we were there we were able to witness a cattle herding. They were moving the cattle from one field to the other. They move them about every 6 months. They move them by pushing them out of the field onto the road and the make sure they don't take any turns they don't want them too. It was pretty interesing. We wanted to help, but knew that we would be in the way more than anything, so we decided to watch. To the right are some cows that were really mad at us for driving in the middle of them. Below is Andrea who lead our car through the herd of smelly and angry cows.

Here are some cows below that got out of our way by trying to jump the fence, when they were unsuccessful they would MOOOO at us. I told them to move faster and not worry, but they just kept mooing.

Here are some more upset cows. We also noticed that when they got more confused and scared on where to go they would go to the bathroom. And if you notice they are moving the cows on the road. So let it be said, our tires were covered in cow droppings.

Here are more cows running from us and trying to get where they were suppose to go. But they don't know where that is.

Here is my uncle Ray, he held up the back, making sure all the cows went where they were suppose to go and that none got left behind. What a smelly experience.

Goldendale Wedding

2008-09-29T08:39:00.001-07:00

We went to visit my Great Grandma Willis this weekend. My cousin Joe was getting married, so we all got together. Goldendale is about an hour and a half south of Yakima, and it is a total farming community. As I am sure you will see with the cattle herding pictures that I will post later. This is my family with my Grandma Willis. Yes, I know Jake looks like a girl.

This is Joe and Amy Willis, my cousins that got married. It was a very beautiful wedding. The weather was perfect with a small breeze to keep us cool.

This is their "hick" cake. The cake topper says "just hitched" and it is a parade float. The cake was actually really good. The dancing was another fun hick aspect - they made everyone do the chicken dance. I don't think I have ever done that dance in a skirt, let alone at a wedding. It was a lot of fun and that was only Saturday night.

Leavenworth Vacation

2008-09-04T20:01:00.000-07:00

We had the pleasure of going to Leavenworth, Wa over Labor Day Weekend with the Rigby's and the Webb's. It was awesome!!!

There was some amazing weather as you can tell from the picture - of course really dry as well. This picture was taken at a park that had some really crazy looking rocks.

Here is Russell climbing up one of these crazy looking rocks. I told him not to since he was wearing sandles, but at least he came back alive. I am just glad that he didn't try to go any higher than that...

Last but not least we have us as Bavarians... Aren't we SO cute. This was outside the resort where we stayed. We went with Nathan and Sarah to take some pictures (well they took the pictures because we are pathetic and always forget our camera). It was all wet because Nathan decided to pour water all over Sarah's head during their photo. He thought he was so cleaver - but Sarah got him back and poured a water bottle down his shirt and it even got his socks all wet... he totally deserved it.

It Runs in the Family

2008-07-30T09:53:00.000-07:00

We really liked this picture that we took at the zoo. We thought it was very descriptive of how my parents house looks on Saturday morning. My mom is on the right and my step dad on the left. But then we realized that that is how our house looks on Saturday morning as well. Casey on the right and Russ on the left ... haha!

Our Anniversary Take Two

2008-07-30T09:21:00.000-07:00

After the Zoo we went to the Japanese Gardens. They were so beautiful. This was the sign at the entrance warning us what was to come. But there were actually 32 stairs at the top... LIARS... :)

Here is a Haiku tablet from the garden. The Haiku was about the weather being so beautiful in the new found place in this garden, it was pretty cool.

We were able to get someone to take a picture of us while we were in the garden.

After the Japanese Gardens we went to the Rose Garden that was just down the way from there. There were roses everywhere and of every color you could possibly imagine.

We both took pictures next to the pretty roses... there were lots of people there that were taking pictures, like seniors in high school and models too. We just took pictures for our scrapbook...

Our Anniversary

2008-07-30T09:03:00.000-07:00

To celebrate our anniversary we went down to Portland, Oregon. We first went to the Portland Zoo, there were so many different animals, so much better than the Woodland Park Zoo in Seattle. We actually were able to see the animals. Here are some of the animals that we saw. This was the biggest eagle that I have ever seen...!! He was a little testy so the trainer had to come and get him.

This bear was hilarious, he just kept walking the perimeter of his pen. He had the cutest little waddle.

This elephant kept trying to eat the rocks. I hope they feed them better than that...

Baby Jared

2007-12-02T20:35:00.000-08:00

These pictures were taken a while ago, but we thought we would show off Jared. This is our NEPHEW... don't worry, no babies yet. He is the cutest ever! And his parents think so too.
These pictures were taken at Jared's baby blessing about two or three months ago down in Tigard, Oregon. Watch out, in Oregon you can not pump our own gas!! But it was a very fun experience.

Gingerbread House

2007-12-02T19:42:00.001-08:00

We decided to be crazy and spend four, yes four, hours making this fantabulous gingerbread house. At first we just wanted to spend about an hour and make something really simple. However, we had lots of candy to use and for some strange reason we decided to go all out. Anyways, if you are confused by our house, there is a garden on the left side, yes that is a garden. The roof was interesting because the graham crackers were not long enough to build the entire roof, so there are worm holes on each side. I am glad we do not have to live there.

Russell after spending 4 hours building the gingerbread house.

Casey was a little more worn out when they were done building the house, hence the sweatpants and messy hair.

Update

2007-12-02T19:23:00.000-08:00

Just an update for everyone. Russell will be interning for Larson and Gross with winter, during the tax season. This is a very big accomplishment for Russell, he worked very hard for this opportunity. The family is very proud of him. Casey also had the opportunity to get a job as a tutor and has two students that she tutors a week. The really funny thing is that she taught one of the kids last year during her student teaching in Language Arts and Social Studies. She will be tutoring the girl in Math, so it isn't her fault that she is flunking math. :) That is about it for now... more to come later.