June's Already Over??

So I've been a little lazy with posting lately.  But that seems to be my style so oh well.  Well June's already gone and I still thought we were in May.  So much happened in June and I can't believe how fast time is going by.  We're settling in pretty well here in Michigan.  Our ward is really nice and very welcoming.  I got called as secretary to the primary.  Did you know that both my sisters have the same calling? I've honestly been dreading the next time I was going to be put into primary.  I enjoy order and do handle chaos very well.  But the kids are great, it's more my own control issues that are the problem.  

We got to hang out with Tommy's sister Misty and her family.  It was so awesome having family close and to get to know them better.  The kids are a blast and we loved talking with Misty and Colby.  Too bad for us they moved to Utah.  Already we miss having them around.  We were able to have the kids come over to our house and have a sleep over with them.  It was awesome!  Dash came over with a new watch and kept telling us the time every 30 seconds (literally...), we had pizza, went to the park, made cookies, played computer games, and everyone played with Zach. Luckily we had two dvd players because we were able to settle a dvd dispute.  Tommy and Dash watched cloudy with a chance of meatballs, Herbie and Teddie and I watched some Harry Potter, and Donna flitted between the two groups.

Good Bye Dinner with the Wrights

Dash was so tired he pushed two chairs together at the restaurant and fell asleep, that is true talent.

ZACH'S FIRST MEAL AT A RESTAURANT.  OK SO WE BROUGHT HIS FOOD

We celebrated Father's Day with the Wrights and I made a magnificent oreo cake if I do say so myself:

 Tommy's birthday was the 21st.  I have to admit I failed kind of epic-ly (I don't know if that's a word).  I did get Tommy a gift but I didn't wrap it. I didn't even get a card.  We also went to go see the avengers and I arranged for a babysitter but that didn't happen until we got into Chicago.  But that movie was really amazing, if you only see one movie this year, the Avengers is insanely awesome! I just got caught up in trying to head out of town for the weekend.   Hopefully I can make up for it for our anniversary!

We had planned to leave Friday morning for Chicago but ended up leaving Thursday night.  I'm so glad we chose this but as you can see Zach was pretty tired the next day!  He slept but not till half way through the drive.  He never sleeps like this, how cute is that?!

 Friday we went swimming in my family's new pool.  They put rubber snakes around the pool to keep birds away.  Zach loooved sucking on them and loved the pool so much he fell asleep.  My baby is so funny.

On Saturday it was Delainie's birthday party.  But before that my mom wanted to take us to this restaurant that she is always raving about.  She failed to mention that it was the absolutely girliest tea party little shop ever.  It was really cute but they should have warned Tommy.  Poor guy, I think they made him check his man card at the door.  He was literally the only guy in the whole place.  Spencer (my bro-in-law) and my dad drove by us on our way to the restaurant and I guess they were laughing knowing what Tommy was getting tricked into.  My dad refuses to go there! haha Luckily Tommy's a good sport and super sarcastic so it made the whole thing super funny

 Zach didn't seem to mind.  He was in his sport gear.  Maybe it was like armor against tea parties

LAINERS. SHE FIT RIGHT IN!

SUPER GIRLY! FUN FOR ME!

 

EVIDENCE THAT MY HUSBAND TRULY LOVES ME

HERE'S THE BIRTHDAY GIRL!

BIRTHDAY CAKE

ZACH READY FOR A SWIM!

 We got to go to the zoo later that week..  Here are some pictures

ZACH CRIED WHEN HE SAW THIS SIGN

LUNCH TIME!

DELAINIE THOUGHT JUST THE SIGHT OF ME WAS FUNNY - NO JOKES PLEASE

EVENTUALLY FOUND AN ELEPHANT

Yes, that's my son in a pink stroller.  He doesn't look to happy either but it was that or a stroller from the 90's that looked like a rodent had gotten to it at some point.  

COUSINS!

 Here's a funny video.  If you love Arrested Development you'll appreciate it all the more

 So my dad doesn't play games.  He says it's because he's too competitive.  I beg him all the time to play with us.  We were supposed to leave on Saturday night but then my dad and Lisa tried to convince us to stay.  He finally bargained with me that if we stayed another night that he would play games with us.  We also got him to take us shooting.  Here's the evidence!

 

My little man sits by himself!

 Ever since we got back from Chicago, Zach has been growling like a little monster.  It's hilarious!  So here's a video.

Oh and did I mention that today I set him down on his tummy and he just started crawling?!! Woah! Where did that come from?????? 

Things I've learned from TV

After four years of being without television Tommy and I decided to get with technology.  Like a bulimic put in front of a buffet, I started binging on t.v.  So here is what I've learned:

1.  A woman really can fight crime in heels (Dog the Bounty Hunter)
2.  If your mom didn't approve of your marriage before you got married and you needed to go on National Television to sort out your issues, DON'T move in with her later on in your marriage, because you're just going to end up back on t.v.  But did you really have to watch that on t.v. to figure that one out? (Monster-in-laws)
3. Yogurt is the secret ingredient to any great dish (Chopped)
4. Apparently life is supposed to go relationship, dog, house with stainless steel appliances, wood floors everywhere, granite counter tops, in the middle of the city, and a great view all for a budget of $200,000, marriage, vacation home and then maybe kids (House Hunters) Boy did we get it wrong!
5. I need more people in my life to get married  (4 Weddings)
6. I don't like sob stories (Any reality t.v. show)
7. I want all my children to be in dance because it's so entertaining but I don't want any of them in dance because there are a lot of floosies (So you think you can dance)
8. If you're on a show that's telling you that you have no sense of style, I think it's safe to assume the professionals know better than you (What not to wear)
9. I'm glad I'm not planning a wedding (Say yes to the Dress and Say yes to the Bridesmaids Dress)
10.We may laugh at them now but we will be the exact same way when our children are in sports programs (Dance Moms)
11.  I watched one episode of Bachelorette because I wanted to see why people loved it so much and I was a bachelor/bachelorette virgin.  I wish that were still true.  Half the show is her making out with the different guys.  Yeah, cause that's real
12.  Companies are not out to take every last cent from the little guy (Undercover Boss) Kind of already knew that but it's nice to see evidence that supports your hypothesis
13. I love the USA with its wide open spaces and have no desire to live in Europe with its costly price tags and rinky dink living spaces (House Hunters International)
14.  But I will visit anytime! (House Hunters International)
15.  There's actually a show out there called "I have no business raising children" (I didn't know I was pregnant) I got through half a story (which is about 1/4 of an episode) and had to turn it off.  Those people make me so mad.  Having actually been pregnant myself, you've got to have no brain to not at least suspect that.  Let's accept that all symptoms magically aren't there.  What do they think when they feel the baby MOVING inside of them?????
16.  And lastly, I secretly love drama...(Dance Moms, bachelorette, teen mom 2, say yes to the dress, monster-in-laws, hgtv design star, etc etc)

Photo Shoot Part One

 A few new things about Zach:

• He sings
• He laughs all the time now
• He's ticklish under his armpits
• He loves my hair
• He's almost sitting up by himself
• He's graduated to baths
• He rolled over today from his back to his belly!  He's a little late bloomer on that front so it was really exciting.  I'm so glad Tommy and I were there to see it!
• Oh, and now he's eating!!  We started a week ago.  He now eats the rice cereal, sweet potatoes, pears, and apples.
• Oh and now his diapers reek.  It's really bad.  And I have how long until he's potty trained...?

Oh well but now Zach is SO cute.  I never thought he could get any cuter but every day he gets cuter.  It's so fun to watch him grow up and learn new things each and every day.  We love him so much.  I love that even after he's in bed, I can't wait for Zach to get up again. 

So with Tommy working and me not really, I get to spend a lot of time with Zach.  So sometimes you have to get creative. Today's activity was a photo shoot.  It was cut short because Zach was tired so there will probably be another one soon.  We have a crappy digital camera and I'm no photographer so don't expect much. Enjoy.

MY FAVORITE!

Bye Bye Manhattan

Things We will miss about Manhattan:

1. Kansas State University
2. Our friends
3. Our ward
4. Tommy's family
5. Being two minutes away from Dillons for nightly snack runs
6. being so close to so many memories like Cico hill - where Tommy proposed to Chelsea or Mercy Hospital - where Zach was born
7. being able to run up to Milford when we didn't feel like cooking to get some good home cooking from Tommy's mom
8. Our fireplace
9. Running the hills (Tommy's not mine)
10. It really became our home

Things we won't miss:

1. Kansas summers
2. Kansas winds
3. our stinkin apartment with windows that didn't work, a constantly dripping sink, a broken ac unit on the third floor with sun hitting it all day long equaling crazy energy bills, a bathroom split into two parts of the house, and carpets that were at least 35 years old and incredibly disgusting
4. K-State game traffic
5. the lack of shopping options
6. Being at least two hours away from anything, including airports and temples
7. Omaha
8. Body First
9. Bird poop on our car
10. crazy work and school schedule

Things we're excited about Michigan:

1.  Our new place with TWO bathrooms and THREE bedrooms and a GARAGE 
2. our GARAGE!! Seriously a necessity and a blessing with a baby
3.  We splurged and got dish tv.  Neither of us have had it in 4 years.  we love love love it!  I can't believe how much I love having something on in the background while I'm working on something
4. Having a piano, Chelsea may learn to play fluently yet!
5. the weather here
6. being closer to Chelsea's family/Chicago
7. getting time to spend with the Wrights (we feel cheated they're leaving us so soon...)
8. Our awesome neighborhood
9. the ward
10. Have a new place to explore and learn and grow from and for Zach to grow up in. 

Graduation and a new place to live

This is just a picture post mostly.  The first round of pictures is from graduation.  After that, there are pictures of our little town home.  We don't have sd cards for our new phones so we can't take pictures and send them to family who have been begging for a picture or two. So it's back to old fashioned take a picture with a camera and send it out on email and post on a blog.  

 I apologize for the huge mess but come on, we just moved in :)

So here is the front door, entry way, stairs:

 The stairs going up:

 Hallway in the upstairs:

Zach's room.  We've already re-arranged this room to look like a room and not a storage room

The catch all office room:

 Part of our bathroom.  It's so big in comparison but NO space to set stuff on sink.  Why don't people think that's important? I've been watching way too much HGTV lately and no one thinks counter space is important.  Also, if you look in the mirror, you can see a wall paper border.  It could be worse or it could also be gone!

 Our Bedroom.  We were in the middle of rearranging stuff when I took this:

 the other part of our bedroom.  I'm happy that our furniture matches at least.

Now we move back downstairs  to the bathroom and laundry room:

 Here's the Living Room.  It's mostly set up

 Dining room/piano room.  I HAVE A PIANO!:

 Our kitchen.  Notice how many small cabinets there truly are? 6. And they're high up so guess who got a step ladder?

  Notice how there is only ONE drawer.  Where may I ask am I supposed to put the silverware?  Also, we hate lazy susans but we are now lucky enough to have TWO.  And also, more wallpaper.  But I'm sooo happy we have LIGHT wood and the kitchen was CLEAN when we moved in. 

Here's counter space and the view of the living area from the kitchen:

And the living room.  I know I know, why is the tv in front of a door? Well if you can come up with a better set up so there is a couch and a tv in this space that isn't blocking that door I would LOVE to get some ideas

So there you have it.  I 85% love our place.  It grows on me more each day.  Obviously there are things I wish were different but unless I were to hand pick every detail in a house that we custom built I doubt I'd be satisfied with everything.  In fact, even then I think I'd still find something I'd change.  At the end of the day, we have a dishwasher, washer/dryer, 3 bedrooms, and an ATTACHED GARAGE!!!!!!!!!!!!! for very inexpensive.  I doubt we could find anything better.  I also am sorry there are no pictures of Zach but I found my camera after he went to sleep.   I'll post more later.  It's late and it's time for bed!

Nauvoo

 

Here's a really funny video!  Before Zach was born Tommy would swing the overalls around.  So now that he's here, we can't not try it out!

 

This weekend we went up to Nauvoo.  This year marks Tommy's parents 40th anniversary (That's so amazing!).  Tommy's dad arranged for his kids to come up to Nauvoo and surprise his wife...how sweet is that?  I once again forgot the camera and so most of the pictures look like we just hung out at home.  I don't have any pictures of anyone!  So I would love some if you have any!

Okay so we were scheduled to leave Friday morning at 7.  Thursday night comes and I can't sleep.  I was so anxious about the trip because GPS said it was a 7 hour trip so I planned for it to be a 9 hour trip with a baby.  That's a very long time in a car seat!  So 1:00 am comes along and I'm still not asleep.  I probably fell asleep in the next half hour but at 3:30 Zach woke up to eat.  Then Tommy took him to put in his crib around 4.  At 5:00 am Tommy comes into the room and says, "Chelsea, I need you to take Zach.  I've been trying for the last hour to get him back to bed and he just won't sleep."  Awesome. Just plain awesome.  I try for about 45 minutes and we decided to just give up.  So we start getting ready and decide to leave a little earlier.   This was Zach at 6:15 am:

HAPPY AS CAN BE!

So we pick up Tommy's brother Matt, pick up some doughnuts ($8 for 8 doughnuts!  Curse you Manhattan for not having a dunkin doughnuts...what kind of town allows 4 doughnut shops to go out of business?!) and Zach is looking tired.  So I tried to get a picture of him and at the last moment his eyes shot right open at the sound of my camera clicking (on my phone? come on blackberry...get rid of that feature.  It keeps me from taking all kinds of funny pictures because ppl would hear the picture sound)  But anyways here's the picture:

SO FUNNY!

 Well, I forgot to calculate how off GPS is with timing because it doesn't calculate you driving any faster than 60 mph.  Also, Zach is an amazing travel buddy.  He didn't sleep much :( but was super happy!  At one time I got him to sleep and with the car seat covered with a blanket, I started to fall asleep.  Then I hear, "ohh, ohh, ohh..."  from under the blanket. My baby had woken up.  AHH!!! But here's some fun video of him he was so happy!

We made it to Nauvoo two hours earlier than expected! We went to the hotel to see if Tommy's parents were there and yep we saw their car right outside.  But we didn't know if they might be walking around anywhere so we went to a park and hung out (we found out later they spent the whole afternoon at the temple!) But that's okay Zach was so funny.  Tommy, Zach and I went for a walk and Matt sat and played his guitar.  Here's a video of Zach talking.  He did this all weekend long!

Well we certainly surprised Tommy's mom.  She was so happy and so touched by the whole thing.  I was so impressed things went off without a hitch!  We may have gotten lost on the way to the restaurant but luckily Tommy's parents were 5 minutes late so we squeaked on in before they got there.  The next day Tommy and I got to go to the temple because I had never done a session before there.  They always say there's a special spirit about Nauvoo.  There truly was something special about that session for me.  The spirit was just so easy to feel. 

Afterwards we went on a horse carriage ride.  Then Tommy, Misty, Mark, and I went a grabbed something to eat.  We caught up with everyone in old Nauvoo but it was super hot and Zach hadn't slept much so I decided to go back to the hotel.  Plus, I've seen the sights a LOT in my life.  I did stop at the Lucy Mac Smith house because I had read her book and just wanted to pop in.  It was neat because her house was an original that had survived the years. 

That night we went to dinner.  Zach was being a little fussy, nothing bad but he just wanted to be held I think.  Well we wanted to eat.  So in the process of trying to find ways to entertain our little boy Tommy put a burp cloth on Zach's head.  After that he was a happy little camper.  What a funny little guy!

ALL SMILES!

Here are just a few pictures at the temple that we took.  My favorite is the one of Zach touching the temple.  I know it's a corny thing to do but it turned out great!

 

 So Zach really enjoyed one of his toys.  The camera is always moving because he stopped performing when he caught me recording

HERE'S US HEADED HOME

ZACH WANTED TO DRIVE

And of course I can't help but post a shout out to my little niece and nephew.  I love getting photos of them

BRADSTER!

SHOPPING FOR HER BIRTHDAY PRESENTS (SHE'S ALMOST ONE!!)