Called to Serve

My "Little Brother" Scott got his mission call today! He really isn't my little brother, but I have staked a claim on him to be the little brother I never had!! We have been close to his family for years and both David and I love them like they were our flesh and blood!! Infact, I would say that we are closer to them than most of our own families!


Scotty will be serving in McAllen, Texas...spanish speaking!! We are so very proud of him, and we are thrilled that he is going, but at the same time, we will miss him like crazy!!


Scott, we love you! You are a great example to us in many ways! Thanks for letting us be part of your family!!

Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas to everyone!! This year has been an exceptionally fun christmas for us! Aiden is still too little to really grasp the full "Christmas...Santa...Presents" thing, but it has been sooo fun to be the parent, watching him enjoy the fun and simple things of the holidays.
David insisted that Aiden needed his own Tonka trucks this year. I must say that although I thought he was still too little, he has thoroughly enjoyed them!! Santa left them un-wrapped under our Christmas tree, and when Aiden saw them, he was sooo excited!






Santa left Aiden quite a few presents, but he just kept going back to the Tonka Trucks!! After he had finished opening all of his presents, he started packing them in his dump truck and pushing them around the house!!



This morning we woke up to a large amount of snow....OK...enough already!! We trudged out in it to go and visit family and lucky for us, David has a BIG truck....the roads had not been plowed and the snow was very deep!! I haven't seen snow like that in a long time! In the rush to get out of the house, I forgot to take my camera or I would have some great pictures for you!!

We hope you all had a very merry Christmas!

In Mourning......

Last night our Boise State Broncos played a courageous game against the TCU Horn Frogs. While they led the entire first half, TCU came back to win in by just 1 point!! Disappointment is an under-statement!! We are so used to seeing the boys in blue win, that a loss....even a small loss is just devastating!!
Well, loss or not...we are true fans! We did our last minute Christmas shopping yesterday all decked out in Boise State! We had a few comments..but we wore the colors with pride!(Kyle would have been so proud!)

First Steps

Aiden took his first "un-assisted" steps today. He took about 4 little steps and sat down and clapped!! (He knows what mom does when he does something to be proud of!)

Christmas a little early!

Saturday night my family had our Christmas get-together at my Dads. Barbara's kids left early Sunday morning to go and spend Christmas with their Dad in Lousianna, so we decided to have our festivites a little early so they could be there! My Dad went totally over-board as usual.



There were tons and tons of presents....my dad usually gets a little "out-of-control" at Christmas time. I think it is because he didn't have much when he was young, and so he makes up for it now.





This is my new sister...Jessica. I really hate the term "Step" I always think about the wicked step-sisters on Cinderalla, and believe me...you don't have to be a step sister to be wicked! (inside joke...hee! hee!) So, I call her my New sister!



Aiden got in some present opening practice at his 1 year birthday party, so he knew what to do when it was his turn!



We had a super time with the fam! Thanks Dad and Barb for making everything so much fun!!

Tag.....Me....at 16

Welcome to the life of me....at 16! When I was 16, I was like any typical 16 year old girl. I was just starting to date, and was still worried about all the "drama" that 16 has to offer. How I wish that I could go back and tell the 16 year old me some secrets that I have learned since then!

I worked as an opthomologist assistant,for Dr. Hansens office in Rigby. I made $5.45 an hour and at the time, thought that I was raking in the dough!! It was a great High-school job! I really enjoyed it. I got to help patients put in contact lenses, answer phones, do filing, and adjust glasses. It beat working fast food!



Unfortunatly, 16 was also my "not-so-cute" stage in life! That explains the picture! I did have great hair though! Thank heaven for small favors!

Well, as for "tagging"...There is little mystery to me about most of you at 16....I was there! But there are a few of you that I would just love to see at that age. So, Rindee, Sherrie, Ashleigh, Rachel Orme, Rachael Havens and Daina...dig out the old year book! Tag You're it!!

7 years, and an Eternity more!!

David and I were married 7 years ago today! Time has just zoomed by! I have learned so much in the last 7 years, and I can't imagine learning those things with any one else!! David is an amazing man, and I couldn't ask for more! Happy Anniversary Babe! Here is to an eternity more!!

Look what I did!

Aiden has been quite the handful lately! He has now figured out how to "out-smart" me at most things. When he doesn't like some thing on his plate, he will very quietly place it to the side of his plate that I am not looking at, and say "mmmm" as if he had taken a really big bite!
He has also mastered the "get-away while mom isn't looking." He will wait until I am not watching, and then dart off! Yesterday I found him in the bathroom doing this.......




He was sooo proud of himself!!

I have a feeling that my precious little boy is going to get to know "time-out" fairly well!!

Gingerbread houses!

Last night we went to Rexburg and see the Gingerbread house display at Madison Memorial Hospital. There were some really amazing ones. You could tell that they had put lots and lots of time into them.







My mom lives just down the street from the hospital, so we called to see if they wanted to come with us. They never pass up an opportunity to see Aiden. My step-dad loves him. Aiden got a little fussy because all he wanted to do was eat the gingerbread houses, so Grandpa Doug took him to see the big fish tank!





After the gingergread tour, we went and got some dinner at Aidens favorite place....Arbys!! He got that from me! Thanks Mom and Doug for coming with us!! We had a really fun time!

Getting to know you tag....Holiday Style!!

Wrapping paper or gift bags? At christmas, I always wrap....I like to do fancy bows and make my packages extra specail.

Real tree or artificial? While I love the smell of real trees, I can't stand the mess they make....can you imagine what my 1 year old would do to a real tree!! I would have needles everywhere! Instead, I prefer the pre-lit artificial trees, and I light a yummy christmas smelling candle!

When do you put up the tree? Usually I get them up a day or two after Thanksgiving

When do you take the tree down? New Years Day

Do you like Eggnog? It has been years since I have tasted eggnog, so really I don't remember if I liked it or not!

Favorite gift received as a child? Munchee-chee. She was a little monkey puppet, and I still have her!She isn't as cute as she once was, and she looks a little shabby!

Hardest person to buy for? My dad. While he is easy to please, it seems like we all get him the same thing every year!

Easiest person to buy for? Aiden. I can always find something fun for my little guy! Christmas is just a really good excuse!

Do you have a nativity scene? Yes, but unfortunatley it is lost. I have a box of Christmas stuff that has gone missing!

Mail or email Christmas cards? Mail

Worst Christmas gift you ever received? I would say, but then the person that gave it to me would feel bad!

Favorite Christmas Movie? Miracle on 34th Street

When do you start shopping for Christmas? Oh...around the 1st of December. I know...procrastinator...I learned that from my dad. He still gets his shopping done on Christmas Eve.

Have you ever recycled a Christmas present? No

Favorite thing to eat at Christmas? When I worked at Dr. Hillams office, we used to get the most amazing spinich dip around Christmas time. that is probably one of the few things I miss about that place!

Lights on the tree --- colored or white? White

Favorite Christmas song? Up on the House top

Travel at Christmas or stay home? I wouldn't really call it travel, but we always spend the day with family.

Can you name all of Santa's reindeer's? Dasher, Dancer, Prancer, Vixen, Comet, Cubid, Donner, Blitzen and Rudolf...I just had to sing the song in my head!

Angel on the treetop or a star? Depends on the tree decorations I use

Open presents on Christmas Eve or morning? Christmas Morning

Favorite ornament theme or color? This year, my tree is done in red and gold and so far, that is my favorite!

Favorite for Christmas dinner? Ham

What do you want for Christmas this year? A few new things in my wardrobe would be nice!

If you read my blog....I tag you!!

Hey...Where are the presents???

Aiden loves the Christmas trees, but instead of playing with the ornaments and messing with the lights like I thought he would do.....he just plays underneath. He followed the cat under there one time, and has decided that it isn't a bad place to hang out!

It't beginning to look alot like Christmas!

......minus the snow! Late last night I finished getting my Christmas trees up and decorated! I love to decorate for christmas, and my favorite part is the tree. This year, I told David that I was going to start doing two trees. One up stairs, as the more "fancy tree" and one in the basement as the more "family" tree.


This is the one upstairs, the more fancy tree!


And this is the one that ended up downstairs. Eventually, I will let Aiden decorate that one, but for now...this is what it is!

I hope you all have a super holiday!

P.S.....How 'bout them Broncos!!

I forgot to mention that our Boise State Bronocs strangled the Fresno State Bulldogs 61-10!!! Go Bronocs!

The Holidays are here!!

Happy Holidays to everyone! While the holidays offer me alot of stress, I do enjoy the spirit that they bring. Thanksgiving this year was with my family, and that in and of itself offers me the most stress. My parents have been divorced now for 7 years, and "sharing" the holidays has not been an easy adjustment. But, horray for my mom, who decided to have us over for a Thanksgiving breakfast, so that we could be at my dads for dinner.
Breakfast was really quite amazing! My mom really goes over-board on any meal that she makes and serves. The table was beautiful, and the food was delicious. After breakfast, my brother took all of the kids for rides on Grandpa Dougs 4-wheeler, and they all had a great time.



Dinner was at my dads house, and his wife Barbara did a wonderful job. She was very stressed, as this was her first Thanksgiving "officially" in our family, and she was the host. The food was great, and we all had a suprisingly drama free evening!

We did not brave the after Thanksgiving sales this year, instead, my sweet husband took me to finally see Twilight! I LOVED it! I am a sucker for High-School sweetheart love stories...even if they do inlcude adolescent vampires!! David was not very thrilled to go, but in the end said that it wasn't bad for a chick flick! Thanks babe for the fun little date!

With Thanksgiving over, I am now excited to start getting ready for Christmas, soon my trees will be up...yes "trees." I love, love, love christmas trees, and this year I am so excited to get to decorate two!! David thinks I am absolutely crazy, but hey...whatever makes the holidays bright!!!

Bronco Fans!!

To Reno or Bust!! This weekend, David and I got to go to Reno, Nevada with Kyle and Ashleigh to cheer our Bosie State Broncos to a victory over the Nevada Wolf Pack.

We had sooo much fun!! It was a really long trip, but well worth the 11 hour drive. It was amazing to see how many fans had made the drive to cheer on their team! The game was sold out and well over 1/2 of the stadium was filled with blue and orange!!

We had a super weekend! A HUGE Thanks to Rindee for keeping my little guy for the weekend. I don't event think he missed us!! I knew he would have a great time with my little nieces playing mom to him! I missed him so, so much, but it sure was nice to get away!

Family Photo Shoot!

My favorite little Ellen Campbell was selling family pictures for the BHS choir, and so I figured it would be a great chance to get the holiday pictures done for our holiday cards!! They turned out pretty well. The ones of Aiden are always the ones that turn out the best!

Jammie Day!

Yesterday was Aidens 1 Year check-up...with that came 6 nasty shots in the leg!! He usually does pretty well with the actual shots, but usually comes down with high fevers later in the evening. I kept him on Tylenol and Motrin all day, and put him to bed, and no late night fevers. He didn't sleep the best, but I don't think I would either if 2 nurses shot me 6 times in the thigh!!
This morning was a different story, he woke up feeling fine, but at about 9:00 started feeling pretty warm. I knew he didn't feel good when all he wanted me to do was hold him! Those moments with Aiden are few and far between, he has never been the "snuggly" type so I love those times, but I know that he is miserable. We have pretty much snuggled in our jammies all day so far!

As for Aidens check-up he is growing like a weed! He is now 29 inches tall and he weighs 20 pounds!! He has actually lost a little weight, but the doctor says that is because he is so active, and has grown 2 inches taller in 3 months!

He sure has grown!

Since I got Aidens 1 year pictures back, I thought I would just do a little comparison for you all! It really is amazing how much they grow in just 1 year!



This is my little guy just 2 days old!! I can hardly remember him that tiny!

Aidens 1 Year Pictures!

Playing Tag Catch up!!

I have been tagged a few times, and I am just now getting a moment to pass it on...so here it goes
P.S-I think I may have done both of these tags before, but if I can't remember, then neither can any of you!

Tag #1

Husband Tag
Here are the rules: At the end of this tag, you tag 4 people and post their name, then go to their blogs and let them know they have been tagged.

What is your husbands name? David Paul Belnap
How long have you been married? 7 years on December 15!!
How long did you date? 3 years...we were high school sweet-hearts.
How old is he? Six days younger than me!
Who eats sweets? We both have a nasty habit of tackling the sweets! We try not to go to the grocery store together, or who knows what will end up in the cart!
Who said I Love you first? David said it out loud first, I did give him the opening, because I wrote it in one of those mushy high-school crush notes first!
Who is taller? David
Who can sing best? I am sure that it is David, because singing is not on my list of talents!
Who is smarter? David is better at math and computer stuff, and I just tell him how to spell!
Who does laundry? I do...Washing on Wednesdays, and Ironing on Thursdays!
Who pays the bills? David makes the money to pay the bills, but I divy it out!
Who sleeps on the right side? If you are standing at the foot of our bed, I sleep on the right side.
Who mows the lawn? David does....we have such a large yard that David brings the "pro" mower home from the farm!
Who cooks dinner? I do
Who drives? When we go anywhere as a family, David is the driver! He tends to be a back-seat driver when he is not at the wheel, so I always make sure that he drives!
Who's first to admit when you are wrong? David and I both come from a long line of stubborn....But I have to say, David is the one to most often cop to being wrong...that is something I have to work on!
Who kissed who first? David kissed me first, but I smooched him right back!
Who asked who out first? Well, technically I took David on our first date, (girls choice dance)but way back before we could date, David promised we would take me on my first date! Does that count?
Who wears the pants? David and I try and stay 50/50 on that. We have alot of the same goals, and we feel the same on most issues, so there is very rarely any thing to pull rank on!

I tag....Rindee Hathaway, Kami Stone, Crystal Loveless and Rachel Orme!

Tag #2
Age-I just turned 26!
Cool places I've been- Well as far as travel goes, I have been to Brazil and England. (Thanks to my brothers who both served foreign missions!) But my favorite non-international places are San Diego, Palm Springs, and Gardner Village.
Places I'd like to go-The Bahamas, Hawaii, really any where warm and exotic!
Hobbies- blogging, scrapbooking, and being a mom!
Favorite place-I love anywhere that my family is. Home is the best place to be when David and Aiden are with me!
Weaknesses-Sales...I am notorious for buying something that I didn't need just because it was on sale! Dr. Pepper, Puppy-dog eyes from Aiden
Bad Habits-I slouch...past occupational hazard, I bite the inside of my cheeks, I am a "sunday snacker," for some reason on Sundays, I find myself feeling very munchy!
Fun Memories- I am finding that with kids, you have new fun memories every day!

I tag: Ashleigh Belnap, Sarah Merrell, Daina Armstrong, and Allison Williams

My baby boy is 1!!

I really can't believe how fast time has gone by!! Today was Aidens 1st birthday!! It really doesn't seem like it has been a whole year!! He has grown up so fast!!

Tonight we had a little party for him! He really wasn't getting the whole birthday concept...but as the evening went on, he realized that all of those cool toys that he was pulling paper off of were his, and that he got to play with every single one of them. After he figured that out, he was all for the party!!

Since I am not crafty in the cake department, I had some good friends from the ward whip up some cakes for me!! They did a great job!! I owe them big-time!

Aiden had his own little cake!

Aiden wasn't quite as eager to eat his cake as I was hoping. I had in-visioned him covered in chocolate cake and blue icing..but that isn't exactly how it worked out. I guess I should have done a practice run-through before hand, so he knew what to do!

Hip-Hip-Horray!! I am one!

Happy Halloween!!

Since this was Aidens first Halloween, I wanted it to be a super fun day. I started out by making pumpkin shaped pancakes for breakfast...blackberry pumpkin shaped pancakes! I don't think the boys were as excited about them as I was, but I had fun making them anyway.

Then it was a long day of Halloween festivites!!! We went trick-or-treating to my step-moms work, and to my sisters work, and then it was a quick trip to Walmart!! Every one got a kick out of my little skunk riding in the cart!!

Then we had to show Aiden what Trick-or-Treating was all about!!! Here are some fun pictures from the evening!

With all of the festivities...it made for a really long day...we didn't get Aiden home and in bed unitll almost 10:00!