Ode to My Homeland

Our new blog layout is a testament to how much we wish we were in Oregon.



*This is a video we took at Ben and Melina's when we were moving down to California.*

*Check out her nap-style bed head. "Mom! What is in your hand?"*

The desert is a tricky sort of place. Yesterday, mid-morning-ish, it was overcast – not a spot of direct sunlight anywhere – and the clouds were hinting that they might let it rain a bit (it sprinkled for less than 5 minutes). It wasn’t too hot or too cold. It was perfect! But of course, it didn’t last. It was all over in about 3 hours and everything was back to being sweltering hot. Wass-ka-lie desert! We wouldn’t have this intense heat problem in Oregon.


Very early this morning, I woke up because I felt something crawling on my neck. I grabbed it and threw it on the ground. I tend to freak out when I find something crawling on me so I gasped and woke Luke up and told him something was on my neck. Usually Luke tells me everything is going to be okay and he snuggles up to me to help me go back to sleep, but this time he actually got up and turned on the lights to help me look for it! After about 10 minutes of searching with no bug to be found (except I did find a light brown leg on the back of my neck) I told him to give up. He said “No” and kept looking; he then confessed that two hours earlier he had pulled something off of his neck and threw it on the floor. He was worried that the thing that had been on me was the same thing that had been crawling on him. We searched and searched and didn’t find anything. Nothing where Luke thought he threw the bug and nothing where I thought I threw the bug. By this time it was 5 A.M. and we couldn’t go back to sleep (eventually I did because Z woke up and wanted to be nursed so I snuggled down with her to feed her and we went back to sleep). Luke got up and started cleaning. When Aslynn and I got up, Luke and I restarted our bug hunt. We found our bug – a solifugae, the size of a half-dollar; in Yucca Valley they call these disgusting creatures salt pugents. It was missing a leg. After much squealing and shuddering at the thought of it being on our bodies, we killed it. We wouldn’t have a scary arachnid problem if we were in Oregon.


*This is what the nasty little buggers look like. The two big legs in the front are used sort of like antennae.*


Today is Aslynn’s 4 month birthday. Time flies when you’re having fun!

*"I want whatever you have in your hand." She can sit up by herself as long as we put the boppy in front of her.*

Luke is going to take a big test for grad school on Thursday. It should be interesting. We’ve been studying for it together. He’s more ready for it than I am which is a good thing, since he is taking the test and I am not. WISH HIM LUCK!

*Two little book worms. The rest of these pictures were taken yesterday.*

The house is getting tiled this week. Everything is out of the kitchen. It’s kind of funny to go get something out of the refrigerator when it is sitting in the living room. Luke, Aslynn and I are the only ones in the house because the tile can’t be walked on for a couple of days. Ours is the only accessible bedroom – all the rest are getting tiled entryways.

*Helping do the dishes.*

Next week I am planning on going to Oregon for my little brother’s high school graduation. (I feel like now that I’ve shared that information, I’ve jinxed it and something will happen and I won’t be able to go.) Aslynn and I will be flying. I’m a little worried that she will get sick from all the re-circulated air in the cabin. A ton of people packed together in a plane = lots of germs. I am going to start taking Airborne in hopes that some of the vitamins will get into my milk so Z can get them too. I am looking forward to seeing my family. Aslynn is too because she gets to meet more relatives.


*Chillin' in the laundry basket.*

P.S. Thank you Jared and Michelle for letting me use your computers to blog!

We Are College Grad-u-ma-kits. (1 post of 6)

The next six posts will explain what has been going on in lives over the past month and why we’ve had a lack of blog posting. (We've had a lack of proper internet.)

*I love him.*

April 10, 2009: After four long years Luke and I graduated from Brigham Young University – Idaho; both of us walked away with a Bachelor’s degree. Luke got his in construction management with clusters in business and architecture. I received mine in communication with a minor in culinary arts.

*Just pretend the diplomas are where they are supposed to be.*

Our hard work and good grades paid off because we both graduated cum laude! Woot! Go us!

*Z was asleep and so she was in the process of waking up when this picture was taken.*

Everybody and their mother (literally) came into town for our graduation. My parents, siblings and grandparents, along with Luke’s parents, his grandparents and his little brother all came to show their support. WE LOVE YOU GUYS! We couldn’t have gotten to where we are today without all your love and support. Thank you!

It was nice to have all the family come to town. My dad, grandfather and siblings got to meet Aslynn for the first time. *Aslynn and my dad getting acquainted.*

*Though he would be embarrassed to admit it, Aslynn has my brother Alex wrapped around her little finger.*

Only Luke's two sisters had seen Z so ALL of Luke's family got to enjoy their first Z moments too.

The Blessing of a Baby (2 of 6)

April 12, 2009: Though our graduation is important, our families also came to Rexburg to be there for Aslynn’s baby blessing.
*Luke's family.*

*My family*

Luke gave his daughter a beautiful blessing. I’ll admit it, I cried. I am so thankful that I married a worthy priesthood holder. Luke brings an irreplaceable spirit into our home.

*This is our "The kid is getting upset. Take the picture" smile.*

Our good friends Ben, Melina and Arianna came up from Provo to visit and help with the blessing. We love visiting with friends. It’s kind of sad how life pulls different families in different directions. Ben’s family will live in Missouri for the next few years; who knows if we will be able to visit them any time soon? We are going to miss them.

*Aslynn (almost 3 months) and Arianna (a little over 6 months)*

*Group photo. Aslynn was done with pictures by this point.*

Moving Out into the Real World (3 of 6)

All right, here is a story for you to read.

We’d been looking for a job for months with no luck. We figured that we would go to Oregon and just sit it out and look for a job there while we let my parents enjoy being close to their grandbaby. Well about a week before graduation we got a nibble from a job in Palm Springs, California. So, we took a leap of faith and decided to move to California three days before we actually moved. It was hectic and stressful but we survived.

*Aslynn zonked out on the floor while we put the finishing touches on packing and cleaning*

I was willing to move to California because of the job, but if I had my choice, we would be in Oregon. Luke wants to be in Oregon too, mainly because he wants to buy our perfect house (that keeps dropping in price making it more and more tantalizingly affordable) and plant a garden.

We had my family pick up a moving truck in Boise and we used and abused my family by forcing them to help us move. When Ben and Melina got there we also made them help. THANK YOU TO EVERYONE without you we would have never got everything packed in time! If it wasn’t for my mom and grandma we would have never got the apartment clean.

*All our stuff in the truck.*

We moved on Easter Sunday. We drove to Provo and stayed with Ben and Melina and then drove to Yucca Valley, California on Monday.




We’re still in Yucca Valley staying with Luke’s parents waiting for that job we got a nibble from. Whenever Luke calls they just keep telling him to call back next week. He’s started to apply other places just to be safe.

*What the truck looked like once we took most of the necessities out of it so we could store the rest until we get a proper, more permanent dwelling place.

Luke’s dad is remodeling the kitchen for Luke’s mom. Luke has been helping out by chipping up tile and helping with cabinets. At least he’s staying busy. Yesterday he took a chainsaw to a Joshua tree that fell over on our sister-in-law Michelle’s garden. He had fun.

But we still need a job so keep praying for us.

We are ready to get out on our own and start the next independent phase of our lives.

In Other News (4 of 6)

A couple of weeks ago we went to Loma Linda, California to help Luke’s sister, Stefanie with a stem-cell transplant reunion for some of her cancer patients. All of her patients are children so it was tons of fun. The theme was a carnival. There was a popcorn machine, snow cones, face painting, a DJ, pizza, chips, Capri Sun drinks, and cotton candy. Luke was in charge of the cotton candy…obviously.

The look on the kids’ faces was the best part.



I carted Aslynn around in the Moby. She was great. The girl loves to be outside.

They also did a balloon release for all the kids who have passed away. The transplant families grow really close as their individual children undergo treatments so it was special to see them remember the kids that didn’t survive. They wrote messages on pieces of paper and attached them to cotton strings and helium filled latex balloons (cotton and latex are biodegradable) that were filled with wildflower seeds. The idea is that wherever the balloons pop, flowers will grow. It was cool to watch over a hundred balloons float away into the blue sky. I wish that I had a picture of it.

The Prettiest Girl I Know (5 of 6)

Aslynn is growing so fast!
She’s found her feet and her toes. She plays with them constantly and sucks on them from time to time.

She is also very good at telling stories and talking to you about her day and what's she thinking about.

She’s also laughing more. I can never make her laugh. Luke on the other hand, makes her laugh forever. She loves having fun with her dad.

Aslynn likes to put anything and everything in her mouth – especially her hands. She like to try and suck on other people’s hands, fingers, arms, whatever she can get a hold of. We tell her that it’s not polite to chew and drool on your friends, but you know kids these days – they never listen.

She’s been rolling over for a while now. Only recently has she done it when someone is watching her. She would roll over when no one was watching and then stare at someone and squeal until that person looked at her. Then she would smile and flirt as the person said “YAY for the baby!” and clapped for her wonderful accomplishment. It’s funny because she only used to roll from her belly to her back and now that she performing publicly now, all she can do is roll from her back to her belly.

She slept through the night a few times…but not recently. We’re still working on it.

There is no shortage of people to hold and love on Aslynn here. Her uncle and aunt love to kidnap her and spoil her over at their house. Her cousins also adore her and give her tons of love and attention.

Relatives have been sneaking Z big people food. I’m not too pleased with the whole thing but I keep my mouth shut because most of the time people don’t listen to me anyway. Also, I am sure that what they are giving her isn’t going to kill her. Just make her sick. Deep breaths.

Grandma Goodie decided that Aslynn needed to have a sippy cup. Water gets put in the cup and Z tries to her best to get the water out. The problem is that she hasn’t quite figured out how the water comes out. When it does, she usually spits most of it out and ends up soaked.

Since she has been getting tastes of things she has figured out that cups hold the good stuff. I can no longer take a drink and hold her at the same time because she pulls on the cup trying to get a taste and most of the time the cup ends up on the floor because I won’t let her get a drink.

Z can now reach for, grab and hold on to the things that she wants.

She has a playmat now that she can go crazy on.

She likes to sit up and be part of the action. We’ve packed her into a nifty little seat in the kitchen so she can see what’s going on.

We’re so proud of her!

We Are Going to the Zoo! You Can Come Too! (6 of 6)

Last week we went to the San Diego Zoo with my old roommate Sarah and her husband Matt. It was a ton of fun! Aslynn didn’t really seem too impressed with all the animals. She did enjoy being carted around in the baby backpack and sleeping in her stroller.

*Luke petting an echidna – a funky type of porcupine with a tongue like a straw.*



*Koalas look like Aslynn when she’s sleeping.*



*Aslynn meeting her first komodo dragon.*



*These ducklings played around my feet during lunch.*



*Luke’s awesome tiger picture.*



*Group picture. Aslynn is in the stroller…asleep.*



*“What is this?”*


This panda and I understand each other. Her 17 month old baby and her hubby were “off exhibit” when we were there. My theory is that since the zookeepers are trying to get her (the panda pictured) pregnant they need to keep the baby and they man away because 1. if she sees the baby she’ll remember that she doesn’t want to get pregnant and 2. is she sees that man who keeps trying to jump her bones and get her pregnant with another baby she might have to punch him in the face.


(Though the panda and I understand each other, I do not hold her views. I love getting jumped. I love my baby. And, if you want to know a secret…I kinda miss being pregnant. I am not saying I want to be pregnant. I just miss being able to eat whatever I want and people still think that I look cute.)