Time for a Change....

BIG NEWS!!!! I just gave my notice on Wednesday! Scott and I have been talking about making a change in our lives for a few months now and "signs" just kept happening....and now I am quitting.

I agreed to give my boss a month to find a replacement and have me train them, so until September 1st I'm still working part-time, but after that I'm a full-time "stay at home mom!" (I honestly NEVER thought I would ever be or want to be a stay at home mom and now here I am!)

Scott and I have been working on our relationship and planning our future....which one day soon will hopefully include another member in our family. As much as I want this change (and as much as it needs to happen for our family) I've been there for almost 2 years now and it's been the only job I've ever had while Carter's been in our lives. So it's a little sad to think about letting go, but I know it's the right decision.

Although, things really aren't changing for another month, I just had to share with everyone the latest "news" in our household.

Carter and his Best Friend!

Carter has a best friend named Hunter. He's the one that we went to his birthday party a little while ago I posted about. Anyway, he used to go to daycare at Hunter's house for almost a year and when that ended...let's just say we were ALL sad. So, the other day Scott and I were in a "child care bind" and cute Ashley said she'd watch Carter for us.

We just love when Carter goes to their house because the boys play so well together and Ashley is seriously the BEST with Carter! (She's going to be a great mom of two soon!) Here are some pics of the little "stud muffins" on their day together.

When you have someone this AMAZING with your child...it's SO HARD to trust or even like anyone else. Ashley and I so need to get these cute studs together more often.

Gettin' the Hang of Decorating!

Okay, so I'm one of "those" that never really got the "hang" of decorating. I never knew what went where and what would look best color-wise....well I'm pleased to announce that I'm getting it everyone!!!

The best part is... I do it on the very tight budget. Here are some of the things that I've done:

1. I bought the "Morris" plaque at Michaels on clearance and painted it myself. I then got stencils for the lettering and: There you go!

Next the picture frames I got at Savers for $2 each and painted them the color I wanted. I then "antiqued" them by sanding down the color and arranged them on the wall in the basement living room. (the pictures are coming...I just haven't developed any yet)

This entire wall cost me about $12!

I just LOVE Quilted Bear. I found this vinyl lettering saying for cheap!!! It helps complete the basement and only cost me $5
This was just way too cute not to get for Carter's room. Each letter was only $1 and I arranged them above his bookshelf that I got at Savers for $4 and painted myself. So my running total for this part was $10!
This is hanging in my dining room and is my FAVORITE!!!! I found these two things at Quilted Bear again and together they were about $19
And last....again this is from the Quilted Bear and I LOVE IT! My sister-in-law almost bought it when we went shopping (it was the last one) but she decided against it...so here you go! This was such a great deal too.....$18
So overall, I think I'm getting better at making my house a home!

Family Portraits.....

Can I just say....I LOVE SEARS PORTRAIT STUDIOS!!!!!! They do such a GREAT job on photos and can do so many cool editing things there! While my family was in town, we also got professional pictures taken....Here's preview of what we got taken....

This is one of the three girls...

Here's one of my cute man!
This one is actually really cute! Scott and I haven't had our picture taken since we got married over two years ago...so this was a very nice treat!
Here's one of the WHOLE fam! I'm so amazind at our "coordinating" outfits because we just used whatever they brought with them!
Here's another of my sweet Tarter Sauce! He's grown up so FAST!

Jam-Packed Weekend!

We had an amazing, JAM-PACKED weekend this weekend. When my family comes into town, we try to do so many fun things together....which is so nice because we only see each other every two to three months....but it makes for a BUSY weekend!

Here's a recap of what we've been up to:

I took EVERYONE to Speed Street (if you've never been you HAVE TO GO!) It's an indoor racetrack in Layton that is AWESOME! Scott LOVES it there and my whole family had a BLAST! Here's a pic of Carter watching the cars race by...

It's a little blurry but this gives you an idea of what it look like inside! It's AMAZING!
Later we all went and got our nails done...that's right even my dad! My dad, sisters and I all got pedicures while my stepmom got her nails done. (Scott took a nap with Carter while we went out) Here's a pic of our cute nails! Nothing relaxes you more than someone cleaning, massaging and "prettying-up" your feet!
That night we roasted marshmallows on my "smore-maker!" It was so much fun...but the girls only like to get their marshmallows "golden" and I like mine "well-done" so here's a pic of Becca eating her first ever "REAL ROASTED MARSHMALLOW!"
Today before everyone headed back to Arizona Scott and I showed them the wonderful world of Parafin Wax! Scott had a machine that melts the wax and we all experimented on our hands! After you do the parafin wax...you just feel so relaxed and your hands are so soft...it's awesome.
We had such a great time while the Payes came to stay....Carter's not going to know what to do when he wakes up to an empty house tomorrow!

Scenic Family Pictures

Of course when the Payes come...we LOVE to take pictures. My sister Becca is a natural-born photographer so I knew we HAD to go somewhere fun and colorful. So off to a park in Ogden Canyon we went. Unfortunately my batteries in my camera dies in the beginning of our "picture-taking" session.

Here is my sweet little man...

Here's a proud Grandpa with his only grandson....Carter just stuck a fruit snack in his mouth when I took this photo.
This was one I just snapped off because it was so precious!

DD Anyone?

While my family from Arizona was here...Scott and I decided to share the experience of DUMPSTER DIVING with them! I've posted about this before...Scott and I go to the Sara Lee Bakery and get FREE bread!

At first Scott jumped in...like he usually does, but my dad couldn't let him have all the fun...so here they are!

He's so proud of his "findings" It's amazing how much you really can get!
Of course Carter had to get in on the action too....we're not setting the best example but hey at least he has fun right? As long as he doesn't start taking things out of our garbage can at home...I'm fine.

Happy 24th Of July!

My CUTE family from Arizona came up on Wednesday to spend the 24th of July with us! Even though we're far apart...we still get to see everyone about every 2-3 months.

Here are some pics from our 24th night!

Becca is 18 years old and Amanda is 14 years old! Each one of us is four years apart from one another. It's really funny to have THREE sisters together!

I caught Pam with her eyes closed...but Carter got a little nervous with the fireworks and he wanted his Grandma to hold him!
This is one of me and my dad! Everyone says that we look alike...however I think I'm the CUTER one!
This is the whole gang getting ready to put on a great firework show!
I hope everyone had a great 24th of July!

A Day In the Life....

Carter may be an only child....but he's still got our puppy Timmy to fight with! Carter and Tim fight over balls all the time....one will have the ball and the other wants it....and that's when things get really funny! Carter will throw the ball (really for himslef to go and get) but Timmy (being a normal puppy) will run after it and not give it up for anything once he's got it.

This is what happened this morning before I went to work...Carter threw the ball, which Timmy then got and hid under the dining room table with. Well....that wasn't about to stop our little Tarter Sauce!

Here's Carter going in the for "kill." They are so funny to watch play together because Timmy is so gentle around Carter and Carter is still very good with Tim. I'm so glad Scott and I have our "two boys" to play with eachother.
This was just too funny not to post....Carter is wearing an authentic, vintage He-Man T-shirt that used to belong to Scott's older brother, Steve, when they were younger!
My little man is growing up so fast...now he even poses for the camera when he's in the mood! The shirt he has on is probably almost 25 years old....How crazy is that. I bet Steve and Scott growing up with that shirt....never realized how quickly life would pass and their children would be wearing them!

I Know....I'm Crazy!

Scott and I LOVE that Carter has his own twin bed now! Our favorite part is that when he wakes up in the morning or from a nap..we can actually lay in bed and snuggle with him! I know it sounds totally cheesy but he is so precious to snuggle with. He gives kisses and snuggles right into your body....what a sweet little man we have!

So one day when Scott and I needed to wake Carter up from a nap I came up with the crazy idea to get a picture of all of us laying in his bed....(like I said I'm a little crazy!)

here's Cute Carter sleeping so peacefully, totally unaware of what was about to happen to him...

I took this one and I'm sorry to say that my arms are just not quite long enough to reach and furthur. But we did get all of us in the frame...that's all I shoot for anymore.

A Tribute to Cousins....

Carter's only two cousins live in Iowa right now, so when they come to Utah to visit we drop EVERYTHING to spend time with them....it's been a great experience seeing Carter react to his older cousin Hunter (3 years and 4 months old) playing with the same toys, and then seeing Carter "talk" to his younger cousin Tanner (9 months old).

Here is a really cute pic of the two silly boys!

This is really funny....Carter and his younger cousin Tanner are exactly one year apart, so everything Tanner's doing, Carter was doing at the same time last year! This is a pic of cute Tanner Bug in Carter's Halloween costume from last year...
And here's Carter actually wearing it last year for Halloween....look at the similarities!
And this is just a cute photo of the two boys again....Tanner's too young to do a lot right now so Hunter and Carter did most of the activities. This is at the Layton Park feeding the ducks.

Two "Firsts" For Me!

I know it might be hard to understand for those of you that know Scott, but today was my first ever "ATV-Riding" lesson! I drove one all by myself today for the frist time in my entire life! Scott has owned his share of off-road vehicles but I've always been a passenger....well, now I'm more skilled!

(Yeh, I know my head looks GIGANTIC in that helmet!)

Here's a picture of Carter sitting on one. As you can tell he really wasn't thrilled.
We spent about 5 hours in the mountains today...so here's a picture I took from the outside of my car looking in at Scott sleeping with Carter. (You can't see Scott, but that's who Carter's leaning on.) How cute!
And the second "first" for me is that I MADE MY OWN ICE CREAM YESTERDAY! I know it might sound dumb to some, however you have to know I've never had homemade ice cream in my life....and I'm also lactose intolerant so this is a REALLY big deal!
It actually looks kind of nasty in the pic but it really was SO GOOD! I was impressed with myself! Now it's onto more complicated flavors....

Performax is AMAZING!

Scott and I joined a gym everyone! Utah is so hard: in the winter time it's too cold to get out and exercise,and then summer comes and it's too stinkin' to even thin of going for a walk...so a few months ago Scott and become members of Performax Gym in Clearfield. We haven't been going religiously, however it's new beginning and we hope to make it a new routine.

The best part of this gym isn't the fact that you can always get a machine when you want, or that you have your own personal television screen on each machine, or the fact that they are so clean....the best part is the child care facility. This was the hardest part for Scott and I when deciding where to join because we didn't want to worry about Carter while working out. All I can say is...what a great place! They have two cameras on either side of the "Kids' Club" that you can watch on your TV screens when you exercise on the machines. So I can be working out on the eliptical machine while watching Carter's every move in the "Kids' Club." It's Awesome!

For those that don't know I'm a little bit of a Lysol freak...okay I admit it, I'm a BIG Lysol Freak! But I saw the teachers in the child care center wiping down every surface and every single toy in the entire area! Carter was so funny to watch because he had no idea that Scott and I could see him....so we really enjoyed seeing what Carter does when we're not around.

If anyone wants to join a gym...this is the ONLY place to go because they have it all!

Another "First" for Carter...

Carter has a really good friend, Hunter, that he used to see once a week for about nine months. Hunter's mom, Ashley, used to watch Carter for me while I worked and cute Carter and Hunter palyed together. They got to see Carter grow up from 10 months old to over 19 months old!

Well...Carter got invited to Hunter's 2nd birthday today! This is a first for Carter....and Scott and I! Carter has never gone to a "friend" birthday party before....so I was curious to see how Carter would do. I think having Ashley's family be the first "outside our family" to share a party with was the best idea ever! Her entire has seen Carter at one point or another when she watched him so he felt so comfortable with everyone!

Ashley planned to have the party at the Splash Pad in South Ogden....Great Idea I might add!

If you've never been to the Spalsh Pad...it's a MUST!

Here is Carter and Hunter holding hands for the first time in over 2 months!
The entire birhtday party was Mickey Mouse themed...check out the adorable cupcakes she made for the little ones! Carter feels so comfortable around their cute family that Hunter's great grandma fed our Carter cake and ice cream off of her own plate!
This was just a cute pic of our little man. (notice the scab on his forehead....he plays hard and he falls hard.)
I LOVE the splash pad area because they also have the BEST playgrounds there. It's so kid friendly I don't have to worry about Carter, and for some reason the stuff doesn't get hot like other playgrounds do.
Overall, it was a great experience for everyone. Scott and I got to relax and let Carter burn up his energy and Carter got to see his much missed friend.