Boise house

Last week I was in Boise, ID for an Aquifer Test Workshop hosted by the USGS Idaho Water Science Center. That was probably the last time I'll be flying before this baby is born.

It just worked out that our tenants in the Boise house were moving out and we needed to turn the place over, so Justin drove up Thursday night. The house wasn't near as bad as last year, but we still found ourselves very busy all weekend long. With the help of our neighbor/handyman we got the place looking pretty good and even got it rented out to a really nice couple that plan to stay for a while! woohoo!!

Before and after of the front of the house.

Sleep Sheep

Have you heard of a "sleep sheep"?

I never have either; but they were highly recommended to me by friends with small babies.

A sleep sheep is really fuzzy stuffed animal sheep that makes natural water sounds (sounds like us, eh?) like a stream, rainfall, ocean waves, & whale sounds. So it soothes the baby to sleep.

We received one of these wonderfully cuddly creatures as a gift at our Las Vegas baby shower (actually we got 2, a full-sized and a travel sized). We also received a fantastically soft homemade blanket from Aunt Linda.

Justin didn't waste much time trying either gift out. And guess what? The sleep sheep and the blankie really did the trick!

Just Between Friends

Last night a few girlfriends and I went to Reno for the "Just Between Friends" Baby consignment presale. Lots of vendors--but mostly families selling their gently used baby items. They had everything from clothes, car seats, play sets, toys, bath stuff, books, maternity clothes, strollers, you name it! And man-oh-man am I glad we went to the presale, because that place was totally picked over by the end of the night. I'd hate to be there today and be so disappointed! I got a few maternity things, a baby carrier pack, a little snuggle sleep sack for the baby, some feeding spoons and these 2 things!

Look how cute this hat is, oh my goodness! Just the right size for the baby in the fall/winter months! And I found this used swing. I think it's a pretty good find, as they are very expensive new. It just needs a good scrubbing and maybe a few stitches on one seam. My favorite part of the swing is that it plays nature sounds (like crickets) and the little mobile above has a little blue birdy on it! Score!

Jayden turns 11!

We celebrated Justin's nephew's 11th birthday while down in Vegas. Saturday night was a great family dinner followed by the surprise b-day celebration. Grandma Sharon did a great job with the surprise planning!

Jayden's actual birthday was yesterday, 8/11.


Happy Birthday, JJ!!

L: Jayden & Vicki (visiting German exchange student that stayed with Trevor & Natalie a few years ago)

R: Most of the boyz

L: Aunt Kathy & Justin

R: Cousin Jessica (who made the fabulous baby shower cookies) & boyfriend, Kenny

Las Vegas baby shower

Justin and I were in Las Vegas this past weekend to spend time with family and be there for a baby shower. What a wonderful shower that Grandma Sharon and her friends and family put on!

A HUGE thank you to everyone that came to the shower, brought delicious food and were so very generous with gifts!

Pictured on the left is Grandma Sharon and 2 of the "sissies", Deb & Barb who helped out a ton. The shower was at Barb's house.

28 weeks, 7 months

This week I find myself 7 months pregnant with baby boy Huntington. Just got back from the doctor and all is good. He told me "you're in the final stretch". Yikes!

We cleaned out the entire office/soon to be baby room on Sunday and put lots of furniture on Craig's List. Anyone want a scrapbook/drafting table, small bookshelf or filing cabinet? Scraping the "popcorn" ceiling and painting the walls is the next step.

My friend Sarah and I picked out some fabric yesterday for me to attempt to make curtains and a bed skirt. I'm not very skilled on a sewing machine, but I'm gonna give it a whirl!

Date Night!!

A few weekends ago Justin and I made Saturday night=Date Night! We drove to Reno and had some amazing Thai food for supper. Chicken coconut soup, red curry, sizzling patter, finished off with ginger & coconut ice cream! Yum!!! Then we played a round of mini golf. Justin wanted a rematch from our 1-year anniversary game where I kicked his butt......well, got lucky really and have rubbed it in ever since. He showed me up this time by winning by 11 strokes. Dang. Anyway, we had a great night!

3 new cousins in July!

Our family is growing like crazy!! Three of my first cousins gave birth to little ones within 15 days of each other in July. Wow! Check out these precious new faces!

Lucy Fay Cypher, born to Philip & Amanda Cypher

Carter Richard Furl, born to Kelly Furl

Lena Rose Cypher, born to Matt & Shannon Cypher

Guy's Harley trip

Justin's professor friend from Twin Falls, ID, Rick, came down to Carson last week along with one of his buddies, Bill, with their motorcycles on a trailer. All three guys took off for a 4 day motorcycle riding/camping adventure. I think they all had a great time!

Big Brother Justin

Over the last few months Justin has entered into the local chapter of the Big Brother mentoring program. Justin is now mentoring a local teen named Levi, as his "big brother". Justin met Levi several times in the last year or so because he is the the younger brother (biological) of our friend, Rich's "little brother", TJ. Levi is a really nice 15 year-old-kid that likes mountain biking (was with Justin when he crashed last month), music, sleeping late and hanging out with his 2 brothers. We're getting to know him better all the time. The last few weekends we've spent an afternoon on the beach at Lake Tahoe with Levi and 1 or more of his brothers. Justin's been having fun with the boys swimming, snorkeling and catching crayfish.

L: Levi puts pineapple on a crayfish catchin' rod

R: Justin & TJ get a bite