Home

So, I made it home...finally! It was an adventure to say the least. I'll post pictures of my visit a little later. I have way too much other "stuff" to catch up on before I post about my Idaho visit. But, I wanted to share a little about our amazing family and friends that made our Christmas much better than it could have been.

Most of Christmas day was spent with my family in Malad watching it blizzard outside. It seriously dropped about 14 inches of snow that day. My mom and dad ended up driving me to Ririe, to Shayne's family, that night so I could catch my plane in Idaho Falls the next morning at 6am. What should have taken 1 1/2 hours took over 3 to get to Ririe. It was pretty insane. About 1/2 hour after getting to Ririe, my little brother Bowdrie called to say that Alaska Airlines had called my parents house to say that my Idaho Falls to Boise flight for the next morning was canceled! If I were to reschedule that flight, I wouldn't fly out until Sunday the 28th, this was after already being delayed three days from my original flight. However, Shayne's family saved the day. They knew how bad I wanted to get home, so Shayne's dad, Dana, and his littlest brother, Dallan, offered to drive me to Boise to catch the second leg of my flight into Anchorage. My flight was scheduled to leave Boise at 10am, so we left at 4am to make sure we got there on time. What should have taken 4 hours, took 5 because of the terrible road conditions. However, they got me to the airport on time and I was able to catch my flight into Seattle, and then Seattle onto Ancorage. Dana and Dallan drove all the way back to Ririe after dropping me off on worse road conditions than on the drive to Boise.

I flew into Anchorage around 5pm and Shayne was there waiting for me at the airport. When our friends in Anchorage,Kaye and Jared, found out I wasn't making it back to Alaska for Christmas, they decided Shayne needed some company. So, Jared left on Christmas morning at 4am to drive down to Soldotna to pick up Shayne after he had worked the night before. He picked him up and drove him back to Anchorage so Shayne would have some "family" to spend Christmas with, and so Shayne would be in Anchorage when I flew in.

So, while it was a crazy Christmas for Shayne and I, and we didn't get to spend our first Christmas with Lachlan together, we were very blessed. We had plenty of Christmas Angels making sure we were taken care of.

We both have the best families anyone could ask for. My mom and dad drove me to Idaho Falls/Ririe twice. They also bought me a some small Christmas gifts so I had something to open on Christmas day. Shayne's mom got up at 3:30am to fix me some food for my flights and make sure that everything was taken care of, and his dad and brother drove me 5 hours to catch my flight on terrible roads. How incredible are our families?! I love them all so much!!

We also have some pretty incredible friends here in Alaska. The Hanson's and Swanson's made sure Shayne was taken care of while I was gone, and then the Tuia's made sure he wasn't alone on Christmas.

I am so grateful for all of our friends and family this past Christmas season. I'm especially grateful to be home with Shayne. It so nice to be together as a family again. There's nothing better.

Stuck!!

So...I was excited to come home to Alaska and see my lonely husband. However, here's how my day went today:

Get to the Idaho Falls Airport...after driving through snow, and hearing about how much snow has dumped on Seattle, and how many people have been delayed...to check in.

Lady at the counter says, "Hmmm...your flight out of IF is delayed and you're not going to make your Seattle connection." (Keep in mind I was "supposed" to have a 3 hour layover in Seattle, so this delay was a fairly substantial one.) On with the conversation: "So, let's see what we can find for you into Anchorage... ... ... ..." after about 20-25 minutes she informs me that the soonest I can fly out of Seattle into Anchorage is on Dec. 26th!!! I hate snow!!!

So here I am, still in Idaho. It coule be much worse, and I know this. I could be stuck in a Seattle airport for two days, b/c I was also informed there are zero hotel rooms in Seattle b/c of the flight delays due to all the snow. It's nice that I get to spend Christmas with both my family and later that day with Shayne's family. However, if I had my choice I would spend it with Shayne. He's my best friend, and who better to spend the holidays with than your best friend? It's also Lachlan's first Christmas, and we don't get to spend it as a family.

Ok...enough of my pity party. I know it could be worse, but it could be better.

Wish I could be there with you Shayne...I love you!

Idaho!!

Sorry no pics...yet. I'm still in Idaho and will be until next Tuesday. I spent a week in Ririe with Shayne's family and had such a wonderful time. It was fun to meet little PresLee. She's such a cute little girl, with such a great big attitude! :) They all loved Lachlan so much. It was hard to leave, but I was excited to see my family with all the new babies. At this point I've seen Holdan and Zane and will see Braylee today and Kinzie tomorrow. It's fun to see all the babies. Pretty incredible year. I just wanted to put up a post to let everyone know that all is well in Idaho. I'll post pictures when I get back.

I just have to say that I'm missing Shayne a lot. It will be so nice to see him again. I think he misses us too. He's been pretty lonely...it's nice to know he loves us! :)

Blog Posting

I thought I would do a quick post explaining my lack of posting on my friends' blogs. I will have each of you know that I spend WAY too much time checking out your blogs, and keeping track of your families. I feel guilty when I don't post, but seriously...takes too much time, there's too many of you, and time is precious when your baby is sleeping! :) So...even though I'm not posting, please know I love checking out your blogs.

Ok...enough of my justification and rationalization of my guilt for my lack of posting. How silly am I?

One another note...for those of you that want to meet up while I'm in Malad, email me at: pepper underscore pond at hotmail dot com so we can arrange all the details.

Two Months Old!!

So...Lachlan was two months old as of Nov. 29th. He had his 2 month appointment last week, and was 10lb 1 oz and 22 in long. He's still only in the 10% for his weight, but he's gaining the right amount, so we just chalk it up to him being small. However, I think he's getting so big. He also had his first set of vaccinations...no fun for mom! Good thing dad was there to hold him while getting his shots. That's the most I've heard him cry, which was horrible for me. We did find out that he does not like cherry flavored Tylenol, he's much more partial to the grape flavor...can't say as I blame him! :) He's really been smiling a lot, and has giggled a couple of times, but doesn't have it quite down yet. You can tell he really wants to though. He's cooing and talking, which is so much fun for me. He has been so much fun...he's really such a good baby.

Thanksgiving dinner was spent at the Pugh's house. She's a nurse that Shayne works with that he's good friends with. They live not far up the road, her husband is a chef...so dinner was delectable!! They are a great family that we love to hang out with. We spent the rest of the weekend just kind of hanging out. Actually, I surprised Shayne and got a baby sitter for Saturday night, so I could take him out to dinner. When I say baby-sitter...I mean our Bishop, Bishop Grant and his wife Diana! :) We love them...they are soon to have their first grandchild at the end of December, so I thought they could use a little practice. :) We only went to dinner so weren't gone too long, but it was nice of them to help me out. It was nice to go to dinner with just Shayne. He's been so patient and supportive while I've been in my "baby-fog" the past two months, that I thought I would do something nice for him.

Anyway...I've added an assortment of pictures from the past two weeks. I'm sure the grandma's and aunt's will appreciate them.

His 2 month picture with his teddy bear...he's grown so much from last month.

He always falls asleep in his carseat...this time his good feel over his face. I just thought it was a cute pic.

He's yelling at his dad...isn't that funny!!

The Pugh's w/ their dog Chloe. Such a great family!!

Smiling at Bo...had to get Bo's nose in there so you could see what he was smiling at.

The next couple of pics are of what he likes to best with dad...lay on his chest and lift his head up and look around. Dad's good at working on the strength stuff, while mom works on the brain stuff. He loves this though...just likes to look around and smile. How cute is he?!

Dad tickling his ear.

See...I do the "brain" stuff...when he's in the right mood he likes to sit under his toys and look at them. He likes to "talk" to them too...it's pretty cute.

This was the day he got his shots...he was pretty wore out...this was how he cuddled up to dad after dad took him out of his carseat...he stayed like that for awhile.

Doing some more "talking" to his toys...I also thought it was cute how he got ahold of his binky.

So...this is a funny pic, b/c it's the last time I put on a newborn outfit. I thought it might still fit...but I was wrong. It was kind of sad knowing he won't wear it again...notice the binky buddy. I got it from Val...I love them!!

This was the church outfit Grandma Price sent him...I love it! He looks like a little man in it...I get all kinds of comments on it at church. Again...notice the binky buddy...this one is Shayne's favorite...notice the fish.

Just some pics while hanging out with dad. His face looks kind of fat in some of them...but I just love the expressions he gets.

p.s. If you made it through the whole post, I'm impressed. Anyway...

To all my MHS friends: I'm going to be in Idaho, specifically Malad from Dec. 16-23. Anyone game to meet up at the Dude Ranch for a lunch or dinner? Is the Dude Ranch still open? Does anyone else have any suggestions. Would love to see the lot of you!