Love; Forever and Always

Park City Triathlon

2011-06-24T10:44:00.001-06:00

At Thanksgiving I had mentioned to my sister Shannon that I have always wanted to do a triathlon. I don't remember if I said it out loud, but I also thought that it was probably too late, or at least in the very distant future (like when the kids were all gone from the house). At the time I told myself, "I have three kids and I am in terrible shape. I haven't really run since I've had kids, haven't biked since I got my driver's license and haven't gone to swim laps in about 3 years. There is NO WAY I could do a triathlon."

I had pretty much forgotten about it until Shannon called me a few weeks later and said that we were going to do the Park City Triathlon on June 18th. Tanner would be one by then, and it shouldn't be too hot. Plus it gave me plenty of time to train. She told me about a free website where I could get training plans.

I know that running would be the most difficult thing for me, so I started with that. We used the money that my Grandpa gave us for Christmas and bought a treadmill, and I went for it. It took me a long time, but I got to the point that I could run the 3 miles, then I started improving the speed that I could run it in. I picked up swimming again and, thankfully, it came right back. The biking was rough, but I was training with my mountain bike pulling the bike trailer with Tanner and Natalie in it. I soon realized that for the longer distance rides, that was not going to work. But somehow I fit in all the training I needed, and so FINALLY actually registered for the triathlon.

The race course was a tough one. 750 meter swim in Jordanelle Reservoir, then a 12.4 mile bike ride with an 800 ft. elevation change in the first 3 miles. The run was relatively flat. We had a few people tell us in the bathroom the morning of the race that we didn't pick a very good race for our first triathlon, but it was too late, we were committed.

I finished in 1:50:46, 28th woman to finish. My swim went awesome, despite the 58 degree water. I finished out of the water 10th overall with a time of 15:23 (which included taking off my wetsuit), and even beet Shannon. Transition 1 was terrible, and took me almost 5 minutes. Someone had knocked over my shoes, and I had to scramble to find one of my socks. The bike portion went OK and it took me 54:48. Transition 2 went well, but the run was awefull. it took me 34:59. I knew I was going slow when I was passed by a 72 year old man! My knee was killing me and I ended up walking for about 1/2 a mile in the middle. I was so frustrated because I know I could have run faster. But I met my goals and finished in the top ten in my age group. Sometimes I still can't believe that I actually did it. Thanks Shannon for giving me the push!

The "before" picture

Getting in the water (and yes, it was as cold as it looks)

Shannon leaving T1

Me leaving T1

Me riding up the 3 mile hill

Shannon on the home stretch of the run

Me after the finish

The "after" picture

If you want to look at race stats go http://onlineraceresults.com/race/view_race.php?race_id=18271#racetop

My race bib # 319; Shannon's race bib # 313

to look at more pictures go http://www.zazoosh.com/members/viewGallery/4865

Silly Natalie

2011-06-23T17:58:00.001-06:00

Looking at pictures of Natalie often reminds me of pictures of myself as a little girl. She always has a big grin, and usually a goofy pose. She also likes to dress up A LOT! She will come upstairs and say, "what do you think?" I usually laugh and take her picture. Here are some of the pictures that I've taken in the past few months.

Super ballerina?

Wearing Hunter's clothes

A little bit of everything

THE pose

Ready for bed, church and a sunny day

A bucket makes a GREAT rain hat

Ninja Natters

Tanner is ONE!

2011-06-07T21:00:00.001-06:00

Tanner turned one today. I can't believe how fast he has grown. We kept his party small, just our family, and a little celebration a week early with Grandma and Pop Pop. We had hot dogs, Cheetos and beans and I made him a horse cake. He grinned from ear to ear when we sang to him, but by the time he finished his dinner, opened presents and ate his cake he was done. It was so cute when we gave him his presents, he was thrilled to just climb and sit on it. He did eventually figure out that he could OPEN it and there was a fun toy inside. He got a riding turtle from his brother and sister, an inflatable pool from Mom and Dad, a sleeping bag from from Grandma and Grandpa and a sand and water play table (and some clothes) from Grandma and Pop Pop.
He is a happy, snugly boy. He is now officially weaned, and has been doing great with a sippy.
He isn't a big fan of drinking milk, in fact, he would rather drink water than milk. He loves apple juice and just about ANY food (actually he will eat ANYTHING including dirt,rocks, grass, etc.). His favorite foods are beans, hot dogs, "baby Cheetos" (the Gerber graduate cheese puffs), cheese, yogurt, whipped cream and bananas. He loves to be held and carried around (I think because then he is "safe" from Natalie). He loves the horses and dogs, and can often be found looking out the window at them and banging on the window. He loves the water. He loves to play with Hunter and Natalie (as long as she isn't touching him).

He hates to walk, but can stand unsupported and will often stand up in the middle of the room and say, "Ah" to get your attention. Then he just smiles and calmly sits down. He has started climbing on stuff....which is just LOVELY.

If he is fussy he is usually hungry or thirsty.

He is a pretty good little sleeper, and usually takes one 1 1/2 to 2 hour nap and sleeps about 12 hours at night.

He has a few words that he is saying. His first word was, "Hi" (of course with a wave). He says, night-night, hi, Momma, Dada, Hunter, ball, up, yeah, gram (for Grandma)and some. But he says these on his own terms, and not often on command. He will copy us if we say, "La, La, La" and "Wha, ha, ha, ha" (evil laugh). He does consistantly answer the question, "what does a horse say?" with a raspberry. But we have discovered that is his answer if you replace horse with anything or anyone.

Happy birthday Tanner, Sweet Boy, Tanner-Man, Tanner Manner, Tan-man! We love you lots!

This free picture collage generated with Smilebox

Climbing the stairs, he does great going up,

but not so great on the way down

He loves to help me unload the dishwasher,
so much so, that he helps unload even if I am trying to load

Standing and banging on the back patio door(notice the horses in the background, and how dirty the window is)

Climbing on top of his dinosaur toy to look out the window

Just for fun

2011-06-06T00:09:00.000-06:00

Do you think that they are related?

P.S. Can you tell which baby is in each picture?

Tanner at 9 months

2011-03-07T17:25:00.003-07:00

Tanner is now 9 months old. He is a busy boy! He loves to crawl and laugh. There are some days where it doesn't seem to matter what you are doing, it will make him laugh. He has been crawling for about a month, and has loved being able to get around himself, and follow his big brother and sister.

He hasn't quite figured out the sippy yet, so mom is worried about weaning, since he still nurses 4 or 5 times a day. But we are still working on the sippy and offering it several times a day.

He went through a phase where he wouldn't eat baby food. One day eating like a champ, then the next wouldn't eat anything I tried to feed him. He LOVES to feed himself. It got a little creative trying to find foods that he could feed himself, and we got really good at cutting things up small enough to keep from choking but big enough for him to pick up. He makes a HUGE mess, but seems to be getting enough.

Stats from his 9 month check up:
Length: 28"
Weight: 17 lbs. 7.6 oz

Crawling in the dining room

"driving" the car

One of his "everything is funny days"

(p.s. Sorry it is sideways)

Catching up

2011-01-26T16:49:00.001-07:00

I've gotten WAY behind updating the blog, so I'm going to cheat and back date a few posts over the next couple of days. So, go back through to make sure you don't miss anything!

6 Months old

2010-12-10T09:11:00.003-07:00

Tanner is now 6 months old! Hie is sitting up well on his own, and seems to have outgrown his reflux (WOO HOO!) He is a very happy little guy. He likes to "talk" and says "dada" all the time, he says "mama" only when he cries. He has learned to spit (make a raspberry with his tongue). He is a good little eater and has seemed to like just about any food he gets. Now that he is getting solids, he is sleeping through the night again (he took a little break for about 2 weeks and was needing a snack in the night). He loves to take baths, especially with his big brother.
He's developed some nick names; the tan man, Tanner Manner, monkey man, little man, baby(from Natalie), munchkinroo, sweet boy.

Stats from his 6 month visit:
weight: 15 lbs 6 oz
Height: 25 1/4 inches
Head circumference: 17 1/4 inches

Doing his usual grin

See, this is just what he does

Tanner's first food

2010-12-02T08:59:00.000-07:00

Tanner had been showing signs of being ready for solids just before Thanksgiving, but his mean mom didn't want to hassle with that while we were traveling, so we waited. He had rice cereal on the 2nd of December.
And it was uneventful. No funny faces, no gagging, no nothing. He just ate his cereal like he'd been doing it forever. Which was great, but not entertaining!

The first bite

eating like a champ

P.S.-we were able to continue the tradition of Daddy doing the first solid food feeding!

Thanksgiving

2010-12-01T16:51:00.002-07:00

This year my uncle Brian said that he didn't feel like traveling, so he bought everyone plane tickets to go to Green Valley, AZ. This was Tanner's first plane trip (and actually the youngest we've had any of our kids on an airplane). I was not very good about taking pictures on the way there, but got a picture of him on the plane on the way back. We flew out of Riverton, so the planes were very small.
It was great to see everyone, and the 60- 70 degree weather was a good break for us. We all laughed that we were all wearing short sleeves and when we'd go out, everyone else was wearing jackets.
Hunter and Natalie had fun swimming in Great Grandpa's hot tub, we went to the Sonora Desert Museum and had a great Thanksgiving dinner.

Natalie in the Hot tub

Hunter just got out of the hot tub

Thanksgiving dinner

Everyone (minus Kelli the picture taker)

at Thanksgiving dinner

On our way in to the Sonora Desert Museum

Tanner on the plane (Yes,he is in his PJ's and I don't just look like I just rolled out of bed, I DID just roll out of bed and throw on a sweatshirt, our plane left at about 7:00 am)

We sat in the very back of the plane and this is the view, all the way through the windshield

Halloween

2010-11-03T15:27:00.000-06:00

For Halloween this year it was a little low key. We had just moved in to our new house, and didn't have a dining room table yet, so pumpkin carving on the floor. Hunter was Spiderman, Natalie was a lady bug and Tanner was a monkey. Since Halloween was on a Sunday we didn't do any trick or treating, but the school has a big carnival every year, so we went to that on Friday night. The kids went through the spook alley, played games, did the cupcake walk, had a blast and got plenty of candy. They didn't even know that they missed anything by not going trick or treating.

Natalie, Tanner and I also went with Hunter's class to the pumpkin patch and corn maze. It was a lot of fun.

Pumpkin carving on the floor (yes I made them take off

their clothes, less laundry)

Tanner "helping" (from a far enough distance

that he wouldn't grab something sharp)

Tanner as a monkey

The kids

Hunter and Natalie at the school carnival

At the pumpkin patch, I was so glad that I had the stroller,

otherwise how would we have carried all those pumpkins?

The New House

2010-11-02T13:45:00.002-06:00

Yes, we have moved in to the new house. We spent our first night on the 23rd. No, I'm not posting pictures yet, because you can't see anything underneath the boxes. At the rate the unpacking seems to be going, expect pictures of everything put away in about 2 years.

4 Months

2010-10-08T16:47:00.008-06:00

Tanner is now 4 months old. I can't believe it! Since we have been giving him Zantac regularly, he has been a MUCH happier baby. He still sleeps in his swing at night (I can turn it off now too), but I've transitioned him to his bed during the day. He usually goes to bed around 7:30 and sleeps until between 6 and 8 in the morning.

He is always smiling and loves to laugh at his brother and sister. He is rolling over and "talking" a lot. I joke that I get woken up by an owl baby every day, because he starts making a "who, who" sound every morning when he wakes up.

His stats from his 4 month Dr's visit are:

Weight: 13lbs. 12 oz; 24.5 inches long and a head circumference of 16.5 in.

Happy as can be in his bouncy seat

Chillin' in his Bumbo

P.S. Yes, that is drool or spit up all down the front of his shirt, but that's how he always looks.

Hunter's first day of Kindergarten

2010-09-08T10:51:00.002-06:00

Since Hunter's birthday is July 21st, we really debated about whether or not to send him to Kindergarten or to wait a year. We decided to send him, and his first day was August 23rd. He was SO excited, especially about riding the bus. I had to convince him to let me take him the first day. I had a hard time leaving him, but at least I wasn't the only one, there were about 6 moms who just sort of hung around after school started. Gradually we all started leaving (and I wasn't even the last one there.)

My goal was to make it to the car before I started crying, and I was close, I made it to the parking lot. I still can't believe that he is in Kindergarten! He has been LOVING it. It is a very long day, he leaves the house with Justin at about 7:30 and gets off the bus at 4:30. He fell asleep on the bus the first day, but has managed to stay awake since then. Natalie asks about 6 times a day if we can go get Hunter.

We are thrilled that he likes school so much, I just wish he could tell me what he does! All I ever hear about is recess, P.E., art and music. Thank goodness for the weekly newsletter that Mrs. Pattison sends home.

Here he is listening attentively

In front of the school

With his brother and sister (and yes those two are still in their pajamas)

Natalie's Birthday

2010-08-31T10:05:00.000-06:00

Natalie's Birthday was the 23rd. She is now 3 years old, I can't believe it. She is such a girly girl, she loves pink and purple, tea parties, babies, shoes and princesses. She is VERY independent and knows what she wants. She can be a real sweetheart one minute and the next minute she is showing off her Natttitude! We sure love this sweet little girl! She got some fun clothes, a bike and a tea party table for her birthday.

She requested a pink princess cake for her cake. I had a little trouble making it. I made the cake on Sunday and then Monday we went to buy the Barbie to go in it, and apparently I REALLY underestimated the height of a Barbie, because the cake was way too small, but it was too late to start over. So the princess cake had a mermaid style gown instead of a ballgown. I guess all that counts is that it tasted good, right?

For her birthday dinner she wanted pink pancakes, with pink applesauce, pink strawberries and pink whipped cream, pink milk and bacon. When I told her bacon really wasn't pink, she said, "that's OK because I love it."

Natalie eating her birthday dinner

The dinner in full glory (of course we had to get pink plates!)

The princess cake (she helped write her name

and did the sprinkles)

Happy Birthday Natalie, WE love you sweet girl!

Tanner's blessing day

2010-08-20T12:01:00.001-06:00

A few weeks ago we blessed Tanner in church. His dad gave a beautiful blessing and we loved to see family. To start a new tradition, my mother made a boy and a girl blessing outfit out of her wedding dress for all of her grandchildren to wear. I didn't remember it seeming too big for Hunter, so I was very worried that "Giant Baby Tanner" wouldn't fit into it. He is QUITE a bit bigger than Hunter was, and he is two weeks older than Hunter was at his blessing. But he fit into it and the only thing that was snug were the sleeves, apparently Tanner has a little Popeye in him (maybe its because his mom likes spinach). It was a great weekend full of family, food and fun!

All the family that made it to the blessing

Cousins playing at Morton Lake (Tanner and I hung out in the shade)

Tanner in his blessing outfit

Everyone at the parade (and of course Natalie is
being the boss of where everyone should stand)

House progress

2010-08-10T11:08:00.000-06:00

I haven't posted pictures of the house in a long time, but that doesn't mean that I never took any. I kept taking pictures, then by the time I got around to downloading them to the computer, they weren't current any more, so then I'd take new pictures.... and so on.

So with Justin in San Antonio for a conference, I had a few days of not much progress, so I could post some current pictures of the house!

We are almost finished with the siding, the roof is done and the upstairs sheet rock is in and ready to be textured today and tomorrow. The septic system and leach field are in. So things are moving along!

The front of the house

The North side

The South side (the last side to have siding)

Inside looking South ( showing drywall)

Inside SW corner, the fireplace is in!

Tanner at 2 months

2010-08-09T16:39:00.005-06:00

Tanner had his 2 month check-up today and weighs 11 lbs 9 oz. He is 22 1/4 inches long. He just seems like a giant baby compared to Hunter and Natalie. He did not like his shots. He got VERY red and just screamed and screamed, but after some Tylenol and cuddle time ( and nursing time) with Mom, he was smiling again.

He is starting to reach for things and make more sounds than just grunting! He is a very smiley boy and makes this face when Mom says, "Hello Handsome!"

He has a little bit of reflux, so doesn't sleep well in his bed, but will sleep 6 hours at night in his swing. He spits up a lot (reflux again). He loves to take baths, even when Natalie "'helps". He is still tolerating the "love" from Hunter and Natalie.

Man alive he's already 5!

2010-07-30T18:43:00.004-06:00

So July 21st was Hunter's 5th birthday. I can't believe that he is five years old already. It really doesn't seem like it was that long ago that I was putting Hunter in the very same clothes that Tanner is now wearing.

Hunter had a VERY long list of wishes for his birthday. To sum up the list, let's just say that if it is in a toy store isle or has a commercial on TV, it was on his list. This is partly my fault because if he ever asks for something, I simply tell him, "we'll put it on your list for _____ (fill in the blank with Birthday, Christmas... whatever present giving holiday is next)."

We went in with Grandma and Pop Pop and got him a four wheeler. He's had one of the battery powered ones since he was 2, and he just has been wearing it out. It was time for a gas powered one. We found one with a governor and a remote kill switch. He has been very excited and is really good about always wearing his helmet. He also got some toys, clothes and fishing flies and tackle box.

He asked for a Spiderman cake and when I showed him some pictures online he picked one that was pretty easy, luckily!

This year we just had a small birthday lunch. Hunter wanted chicken nuggets, Cheetos, blue punch, cake and ice cream. Then he left with his dad to go on a camping trip with the young men.

So happy Birthday my big boy, we love you so much.

1 month old

2010-07-07T16:52:00.000-06:00

Tanner is now one month old. He is a pretty good baby and tends to be fussy if he has to burp or just wants to be held. He has been smiling (but only at his Mom) and has survived the "love" of his big brother and sister. Mom is adjusting to getting less sleep, and has even been able to have all three kids asleep at once several times! Tanner now weighs 9 lbs 4.4 oz and is 21 1/4 inches long. He is a pretty sweet baby and we are enjoying watching him grow!

Tanner smiling (sorry the picture isn't that great, I wasn't looking

at the camera when I took it)

And then there were three

2010-06-11T09:56:00.004-06:00

Tanner Michael was born at 11:02 am on Monday June 7, 2010. He weighed 7lbs 1 oz. He was 20 inches long with apgar scores of 8 and 9 (for Kelli's nurse friends). Everyone is doing great.

The three Walker kids

Tanner

Tanner's first family picture

Soccer

2010-05-22T08:58:00.000-06:00

Hunter was old enough for soccer this year. He was so excited to play. He had a good season and ended up scoring 3 goals throughout the season. The way they do soccer here, he played with the 6 and under kids and they play 3 Vs. 3 with no goalie on a very small field. The teams have 6 or 7 kids and they play 4- 8 minute quarters. It seemed to work pretty well and cut down on the amoeba effect where all the kids surround the ball and kick each other in the shins.

It was a cold April and May so most of the games were pretty chilly, but we still had fun. Hunter seemed to fall down a lot, but really tried to listen to his coach and seemed to have improved by the end of the season.

Note: the teams alternate between red and blue, so sometimes he is in blue and sometimes he is in red.

Hunter showing off his new cleats, shin guards and socks

Hunter in action

Half time = snack time

Hunter freezing before the game

I managed to catch a goal on video, I didn't get any of the lead up to the goal but the celebration after is the best anyways!

House update

2010-04-27T09:47:00.003-06:00

So the house is coming along well. Since the last update we moved the house away from the canal a little and decided to have it sit up out of the ground a little more. We did not hit water in the new hole, but decided to put in a foundation drain just in case. We now have the basement walls all framed and the sub floor for the upstairs done. We've had a few delays due to weather, but seem to be making good progress!

The kids have had fun running through the walls and telling everyone who will listen what all the rooms will be.

After they poured the basement floor

Grandpa working on framing in the basement interior walls

The basement all framed in with the garage off to the right,
floor joists on and main floor sub floor on too

The basement, complete with stairs!

Easter

2010-04-21T18:13:00.000-06:00

For Easter weekend this year the kids and I made a trip to Colorado to see Grandma and Pop Pop. I had decided that it would probably be the last weekend that I wanted to travel that far, and Justin had a lot to get done on the house. We did come home Saturday night so that we could spend Easter with Justin (since he wouldn't be working on Sunday anyway.) While we were there the kids got their traditional Easter outfits from Grandma, we went to Chuck E. Cheese and W.O.W., saw the Easter Bunny, ate out and got some new toys. We went to two Easter egg "hunts" (the eggs were just scattered over the ground). The kids dyed eggs with Pop Pop, while Mom went to Costco with Grandma, it was a great weekend.

The kids in their Easter outfits (even though it was a week later)

and yes, Grandma did get a matching dress for Natalie's baby

Natalie and Grandma at one of the Easter egg "hunts"

Hunter at one of the Easter egg "hunts"

The eggs we dyed at home, and yes, the are ALL broken

Natalie doesn't quite get the "gently" part yet

showing off their handy work

Boys day out and girls day in

2010-04-12T20:10:00.004-06:00

A few weeks ago Justin and Hunter went to the Butler Vs Kansas State game. Which is even more cool now that Butler made it to the championship game. They met Ben and Jared (and Mel) there and took Beau along with them. They were really excited to go, but Natalie was feeling a little left out, so we decided that while the boys were having their fun day out, we would have our fun day in. I think we all had a fun day!

The boys ate out and had lots of treats at the game. Hunter told me all about being able to use licorice as a straw for his pop. Hunter had fun watching the game and playing with his cousin Jared. Justin said he did well with all the time in the car, and had a blast spending all day with his dad.

Justin and Hunter at the game

Hunter and Jared-Can you tell they are related?

The girls had two "tea" parties and painted our toenails. I found out the hard way that in a two year old's mind it is "fair" if Mom paints your toenails, then you get to paint Mom's!

Natalie at the "tea" party (she wanted pink food)

The toenails

A close-up of Natalie's handy work

The house update

2010-03-15T14:24:00.003-06:00

The Progress:

The "hole" for the basement so far

Another view of the "hole"

The Set backs:

The broken backhoe

The truck that came to fix the backhoe, VERY stuck

The water that showed up in the "hole" for the basement

Breaking ground

2010-03-09T09:10:00.004-07:00

I realized that many of you may not be updated on the house situation. We did sell our house in Green River in November. Once that was off our plate we started looking for some land. We have really enjoyed living in Pavillion, and decided that we could stay (as long and Justin continued to have a job here). After some encouraging comments from the Principal at the high school, we made an offer on some land. It is 35 acres with power and a well already there. They accepted our offer and so last month we became land owners. We have been working on house plans and just waiting until the ground was thawed enough to start digging. After the last few days of near 50 degree weather, and the fact that our land has a slight slope that is south facing, we thought that we might be close. Justin went out to dig a "test" hole and see if we could start digging, and the verdict was "yes!" So we have officially broken ground for the house. Granted it is just a hole about 1 ft wide by 18 in deep....but still we have broken ground! As soon as we can get a backhoe here, the real digging will begin!

The kids "digging" the hole

The budding photographer

2010-02-23T15:22:00.005-07:00

Here are some of the lovely pictures that Hunter has taken recently. Thank goodness for digital cameras! I think I'll make a photo book of all the pictures that he's taken of his feet. Why does he always take a picture of his own feet?

Mom and Natalie with our tongues out!

Hunter's feet

Mom's belly (whatever he did, I LOVE him... my belly looks so small!)

Prayers for Buddy

2010-02-23T14:11:00.004-07:00

Well I was going through some of the old posts that I had started and then, for whatever reason, not posted. I thought that I would post this one.

Our dog Buddy recently disappeared one evening. We live on a 200 acre ranch and our dogs have the run of the ranch, so occasionally we don't see them for a few hours at a time. They always come home at some point. But when I saw Zeke, and no Buddy that night, and then again that morning I was worried. Especially since it had been one of the coldest weeks we'd had all winter, getting down to 20 below zero at night.

Of course Justin was out of town, so I did my best to look for him and call him, but he never showed up. Then there is a knock at the door. When I answered, there was a man who explained that he had some fox snares near by and had just set a very large white dog free from one and was wondering if that was our dog. Sure enough, a few minutes later, here comes Buddy limping around the corner.

I brought him inside, ( a treat in itself) and looked at his foot. It did not look good. His left front paw was swollen from the knee joint and frozen solid from the ankle joint down. I called a vet and thawed it out, but I was not hopeful. While talking to the vet, I asked about amputation, and how he would do. He told me that it would be sad. A dog of that size, and it being a front leg, he would not have much of a life.

I just didn't know what else to do. But Hunter did. He said, "Mommy, we should pray that Buddy's leg will get better." I told him that that was a good idea. And for the next week Hunter said hundreds of prayers for Buddy. I was still preparing the kids for the chance that we may have to put Buddy down if his leg didn't get better. But Hunter was insistent. "Mom, but I PRAYED that it would get better, Buddy's leg WILL be better!"

The kids helped me "hold" Buddy down, while I thawed out his foot

I was so touched to see the faith of my little boy. He KNEW that because he had prayed, his leg WOULD be better. I was the one who was lacking faith. But after several trips to the vet, multiple bandage changes, a course of prednisone and antibiotics and Hunter's prayers...Buddy's leg is fine. He did loose all of his toenails and pads. The pads have since grown back and we'll see about the nails, but he is using it as if nothing ever happened!

Now the joke at our house is that if you need something to happen, have Hunter pray for it! Once he started to pray for the house in Green River to sell, it did. He prayed for Buddy's foot to get better and it did. He prayed for a baby brother, and he got one! So let us know if you have something that needs to happen, we'll let Hunter know.

And the baby is a...

2010-01-29T09:54:00.005-07:00

BOY

*Now, we are not shy in this family. If that is what something is called, it is not a bad word, including anatomy, so please note that there may be some words that you would not appreciate, but that is what it is called, and it is a direct quote.*

That's right. We had our 20 week ultrasound on Wednesday, and we are having a boy. It was actually very funny, we took the kids with us, and they were good, but it didn't seem like they were paying very much attention. The doctor had started out with some of the medical stuff, looking at and measuring the heart, head, abdomen, kidneys, etc. The kids were a little distracted. He would pause on a picture, and type in some text, then explain something. Then he paused on a picture, ( I was smiling, because I realized what it was) and was about to type something and Natalie said, "Hey, look at that, that's a penis!" the doctor said, "you're right, it is." and typed "looks like a boy" on the screen. Everyone laughed and laughed!

So obvious enough to a 2 year old, it's a boy!

Here are some of the pictures, we had a hard time getting some good face pictures, he had his arm over his face and was snuggling up against the placenta! But here is what we got. (I'll spare you the gender revealing picture, and just post some face pictures.)

Christmas 2009

2010-01-07T15:11:00.000-07:00

This year for Christmas we went to Colorado. It was great to see everyone there. Kelli's Grandpa and Uncle flew in from Arizona and her sister and Dave (Shannon's boyfriend) flew in from Wisconsin. So after our 3 hour detour because I-25 was closed at the Wyoming-Colorado border, we were all there!

This is the "before picture" Everyone was very generous!

But, where are we supposed the sit?

This is Hunter's "knight suit" that he got from Santa

We got my parents some frames, and we wanted to

have a picture of the four kids to put in it

(this was my favorite because you can't tell I'm pregnant

well, at least not very well)

No trip to Grandma and Pop Pop's is complete without

hot tubbing.....

Or sledding.....

More sledding...

(One day of sledding wasn't enough, we had to go again!)

Or a trip to Chuck E. Cheese!
This is Hunter's favorite ride, its a 3D simulator of
a roller coaster

Natalie's favorite ride: driving and talking on the phone!

Everyone had a blast. And it still feels like Christmas everyday when the kids have a new toy to get out and play with. We also did some shopping and saw The Princess and the Frog. It was a cute movie and the kids really liked it.

Thanks everyone for a very Merry Christmas 2009.

Its been a while..

2009-12-16T12:46:00.007-07:00

I was looking back and noticed that it has been a while since I last updated our blog. This is partly because this has been my view for the last few weeks.

(I decided that the stock Internet picture was better than an ACTUAL picture of our toilet)

But its all worth it when this is the reason why!

Walker baby #3 is scheduled to make his/her arrival on June 12th.

Goodbye Speedy

2009-10-22T15:52:00.004-06:00

The other day we said, "goodbye" to our lizard, Speedy. He was a green anole who was given to Hunter by one of the basketball girls in Star Valley. The kids had fun holding him and letting him jump around. Unfortunately, Speedy was a lizard who would only eat live crickets. In Star Valley, that meant driving to Etna (about 30 minutes each way), here that meant catching small grasshoppers in the yard because there was nowhere to buy crickets close by. I had been feeling guilty, because late in the season we were having some trouble finding grass hoppers who were small enough for him. So I had bought some crickets and a nicer cage for him while in Idaho Falls...and he died the next day. The Kids are sad that he is gone (mom is a little relieved) but now I have a nice Green Anole cage from PetsMart that has never been opened. Hopefully they will still take it back by the time I can get to another PetsMart!

So the kids say, "goodbye Speedy, we will miss you." Mom says, "Goodbye long drives to buy live crickets!" (Does that make me a horrible person?)

Look closely, he's holding Speedy

A new friend for Zeke

2009-09-25T14:26:00.000-06:00

We've found that our dogs seem to do better when there are two of them. Our dog Sunny passed away (unexpectedly) at the age of about 4 a few months ago. Zeke seemed fine for a while, then began chewing things, and just seemed lonely. So we had decided that once we moved we'd find him a new friend, but the opportunity came along to adopt Buddy just a few days before we were going to move. How could you pass this face up?

So we now have two dogs again. Buddy is an Akbash. They are supposed to get pretty big, like Great Pyrenese, but not as hairy. So far he seems to be living up to that! He just keeps growing and growing. He and Zeke are getting along well, and have loved the space to run, roam and explore. There was some debate about his name. Some of the choices were Jack Frost (from Hunter), Juneau, Polar, Bear, in the end we just kept calling him Buddy until we could choose a name, and it sort of stuck.

He's been a good sport with all the "playing" that the kids have done with him, or should I say done TO him!

Happy Birthday Natalie!

2009-08-23T15:38:00.001-06:00

Well, I can hardly believe that Natalie is two years old today! She is such a sweet, smiley girl, she just melts anyone's heart. Since we had barely moved, we opted for a quiet (as quiet as it can be with our two kids) party at home with the family. Natalie wanted corn and hot dogs for dinner and asked for a pink cake with berries and butterflies on it. We kept trying to ask her what sort of gifts she wanted but it never worked out, the conversations went like this:

Mom or dad: Natalie, what do you want for your birthday?
Natalie: cake (big grin)
Mom or dad: yes, we'll have cake after dinner, but do you want some presents?
Natalie: No, I want a PINK cake with berries and butterflies!
Mom or Dad: I know, you can have a pink cake with berries and butterflies, but what do you want as PRESENTS? Are there any toys that you want?
Natalie: No, I want a PINK cake with berries and butterflies!

So we gave up and took her shopping with us for a few things. It was so cute to watch her relish all the attention. She was SO excited about every phone call that she got, she'd say, "they sing Happy Birthday to ME!" She really knew that it was about her today! When we had finished singing "Happy Birthday" to her, she asked us to sing it again, so we did! It was so cute. So Happy Birthday Natalie, Sweet Baby Girl, Princess, Sweetheart, Natters, we love you!

the ONLY late pregnancy picture I could find

Natalie at a few minutes old

Natalie at one year old being a "stinker"

Happy Natalie at one year old

Natalie at two years old

Natalie at her birthday dinner with her b-day crown

Natalie's dinner choice

The pink cake with berries and butterflies (I made them out

of melted Jolly Ranchers and Mike and Ike bodies)

Her first driving lesson in her new SUV (thanks Grandma and Pop Pop)

She also got some really cute clothes and a few toys(thanks everyone). Hunter picked out some sparkly pink sandals for her (she LOVES) shoes, it was so sweet, he kept saying, "I know she will like these."

Happy Birthday Kelli

2009-08-13T16:31:00.000-06:00

So for the next two posts, I'm gong to back date them to the actual birthday date, I know it's cheating, but you have to have a blog post ON your birthday, even if it is written later. :-)

So, since we loaded up the two trucks and trailers, hauled them over then unloaded them in one day (the day before my birthday) we decided to celebrate it later. My parents still had the kids, so on my actual birthday Justin and I did go out to dinner, but we were pretty wiped out! Plus, we were trying to put most of the stuff away BEFORE we had small helping hands!
Justin had asked me what I wanted him to make for my birthday, and I said that I didn't care as long as I didn't have to make it. So this is what he came up with:
He made some parmesan crusted chicken topped with pepperjack cheese, sautéed mushrooms, a spinach salad and some fresh pineapple! He said that we were watching The Food Network one night a few months ago and someone made this , and I said, "Oh, that looks good, and easy too." I don't remember that, but he did and remembered well enough to replicate it. Then he had made a cake too, it was GREAT.

The cake ( I appreciated not having 27 candles!)

The birthday guests (sorry its fuzzy)

Pavillion

2009-08-08T13:00:00.003-06:00

Justin accepted a job at Wind River High School teaching PE/ Health and head girl's basketball coach, so we are moving to Pavillion, Wyoming. We've done lots of praying, and know that this is where Heavenly Father wants us to be. We hadn't planned on moving again, but we have quickly learned that it is not our plan, but His.
We have finally finalized a place to live, just in time and we are moving next week. We will be leasing part of a 200 acre ranch, so we are really excited, except that it looks like we'll have to get satellite internet, so it might be a while before I can post again. Look forward to a new friend for Zeke, the pack trip and Camp Grandma 2009!

Yellowstone!

2009-08-02T11:36:00.000-06:00

I know it may seem strange that I've been to France, Jamaica, Hawaii but I've never been to Yellowstone. We decided that while we were living so close, that we would make the trip. We met Grandma and Grandpa Walker outside of Jackson, and off we went. We drove through the park to West Yellowstone Montana and stayed in the Days Inn there. The kids had fun swimming at the pool with the BIG slide. Then we did one side of the park and came back, then finished up on our way back through the last day. We saw rivers, falls and lots of geysers and mud pots. We saw Buffalo, a bald eagle, elk and a wolf! It was a blast and the kids did great to be in a car for 3 days in a row.

up close and personal with a buffalo

The wolf, he was pretty far away and eating
what looked like an elk calf

T-I-R-E-D

At one of the Yellowstone River falls
or Tower Falls?

The Yellowstone River just below the Lower Falls

At one of the Geyser Basins, she kept saying,

"that's really Stinky."

Finally a HERD of buffalo

Everyone in front of the Tetons

Hunter and Grandpa at Cascade falls (I think)

Grandma and Natalie

Mom and Natalie looking over the bridge

What kind of animal is that?

See, they DO love each other

Cattle drive

2009-07-26T22:35:00.001-06:00

When Justin and I moved to Laramie we met some people that have come to be good friends of ours; Montie and Cheryl Munroe. They have a paint horse breeding and cattle ranch in Encampment, Wyoming. Every year about the 15th of July they drive 160 head of cattle from the ranch to the Colorado border on the national Forest. This was the first year that I was able to go (since I wasn't pregnant or nursing a baby).
So we met Grandma and Pop Pop on the highway and they took Natalie for a few days, then headed off to Encampment. The first day we start about 5 pm and drive the cows through some sage brush on mostly flat ground to the base of the mountain. Then the second day we start at about 4am and drive the cows straight up one side of the mountain, then straight down, and then strait up the other side, then along a dirt road for another few miles. Hunter was very excited to go, so we decided that he could ride along the road the last few miles. So he stayed with Cheryl for the day and rode around in the truck with the trailer and the other kids who were going to ride later in the day.
It was a long few days, but a lot of fun. We had a good group of riders who could keep most of the cows going in the right direction and out of the thick brush and trees. I hadn't uploaded all the pictures off of our camera before we left, so we only had 2 pictures left, so even after deleting some, we didn't get very many pictures. And I didn't get ANY pictures of the HUGE ups and downs of the drive, because I was too busy moving cows!

Hunter on King, Me on Rebel on the road the last few miles

(Justin and I traded off on Rebel for that last little bit with Hunter

because Luke lost a shoe)

Justin on Rebel, Hunter on King

Hunter holding King from the truck (he was

passing out drinks) on the first day

The view on the first day (with King's ears)

another view of the first day

P.S. At first I thought it was silly to wear the western shirts and cowboy hats, but they really do make a big difference! It was dusty and sunny and there were a lot of branches that could have scratched my arms, but I was cool and sunburn and scratch free.

Happy 4th Birthday Hunter!

2009-07-21T16:11:00.002-06:00

Hunter turned 4 today! I can't believe he's already 4 years old. It seems like it couldn't have been that long ago that I looked like this:

2 days before Hunter was born (I can't believe I'm posting this)

One day old, the day he came home

One year old

Two years old

three years old

four years old

He asked for a gun, a Spiderman cake and a party. He wanted to have a party with his friends, especially since we are moving soon. When I asked him what he wanted to do he said that he wanted to have a water fight. Since our air conditioning is broken and this is what the thermostat in our house read, we said yes.

Yes, that is correct 83 degrees INSIDE

Hunter's Spiderman cake that I made

pictures from his party

Pictures from his party

Hunter filling up the water gun

Everyone in the front yard for the fight ( the pool is filled with warm water)

Happy birthday Buddy, Turbo, Bucko, Buckaroo! We love you Hunter!
(P.S. happy birthday to Whitnee, Beth and Pat too)

The 1st Walker Family Pack Trip

2009-07-18T12:40:00.001-06:00

Justin grew up with two parents who were teachers and so spent a lot of time in the summers going camping and on pack trips. He had a dream of taking his own family on one since I found out I was pregnant with Hunter. Justin, his dad, and I went on a pack trip when Hunter was about 1 year old, but his dream was to take his kids and do something he had grown up doing and come to love.

Now since Hunter is almost 4 and Natalie is almost 2, we figured that it was time for the 1st Walker family pack trip. We planned for weeks and picked a place that was close enough that we could get to the camp site with only about 1 hour of riding. Grandpa Walker came along and brought a pack horse so we could take plenty of stuff. We soon realized how difficult it was going to be with two kids who are not old enough to ride alone. Hunter has been riding on his own horse with a lead rope and Natalie rides with me. But with three adults and a total of 6 horses it was a little bit of a challenge to get everyone loaded and up the trail. To make things more complicated, the two pack horses had never been packed before and Justin was riding a horse who had been gone for the last 9 months. But we made it in with no big problems.

We camped, we fished, we played and ate...then the rain started. Camping is great, but keeping two kids inside the tent to stay warm and dry is NOT very fun. Justin and Grandpa got horses ready for us and as soon as the rain let up for a bit Justin, the kids and I rode out. We made it out without getting wet, but Hunter had a little tumble. The horse Justin was riding got spooked by something and backed into the horse that Hunter was riding and his little hands and legs couldn't keep him on, so he bailed and jumped at the last second. He cried and cried and I was afraid that he was really hurt even though he landed on his feet and bum. When I asked him what was wrong he said, "I'm not a REAL cowboy, because cowboys stay on!" We had to laugh. We told him that real cowboys just get back on when they fall, so he did and rode the rest of the way out. Then Justin went back to help Grandpa take down camp and bring the rest out. It was a great trip, we had lots of fun, but I think that we'll wait until the kids are a little bit older to try it again!

Grandpa watching the fire

The family and I, of course, couldn't put down my plate

The horses tied up for the night

The two cutest kids ever

On the way out, ready for more rain

Happy 7th on the 5th

2009-07-05T11:16:00.000-06:00

7 years ago today Justin and I got married in the Mount Timpanogos temple. To celebrate our anniversary I surprised Justin with a little trip. We went to the Rexburg temple and then to a great place to eat in Rexburg called Da Pineapple Grill. Then we went to a little bed and breakfast in Ribgy. It ws a blast, but once again, I didn't take any pictures so you get a re-run of the wedding picture! Happy anniversary Honey, I love you lots and look forward to LOTS more!

Utah, Graduations and Colorado oh my!

2009-07-02T16:45:00.006-06:00

So I had posted something earlier about our whirlwind of a few weeks, and decided that Disney World gets its own post, because its Disney world, but everything else is going to be lumped into one big post. So here goes. My sister-in law Lori got all the girls in the family tickets to see Wicked in Salt Lake. Because the kids and I were flying back into Salt Lake after Disney and the show was only about a week later we decided to stay at Kelly and Lori's for that week. The kids had a blast playing with cousins and their cousins' cousins (Lori's sister Stacey's kids), watching the landscaping, Doing a Home Depot project and enjoying the warmer weather (it snowed in Afton while we were there). And Wicked was AMAZING! Lori is a great cook and host and we had a great visitation (visit/ vacation, get it).

Hunter building his wheel barrow at Home Depot

Maybe not a big fan of the orange apron?

Hunter got to help tear out the driveway

Everyone at Wicked

Then two weeks later we had my Sister Shannon's college graduation from The University of Colorado. She has a degree in Molecular, Cellular and Developmental Biology (MCDB for short). She's planning on maybe physical therapy school or Dental school after a year or two break. Because my Brother Quinn's high school graduation was only two weeks later, my Grandpa would be there and its an 8 hour drive to Colorado, the kids and I stayed in Colorado for two weeks while Justin headed back to finish up the school year.

Everyone at Shannon's Graduation

Everyone at Quinn's graduation

While we were there for two weeks we tried to do all the things that you can't do when you live in a small town. We went to the Museum of Nature and Science, the WOW Children's museum, the Zoo, swimming, the park, the farmer's market, Jump Street (a GIANT room of trampoline's and blow up things), Chuck E. Cheese's, out to eat. The kids had a blast. Shannon and Great Grandpa came along to all of it. We even managed to squeeze in my good friend Ashleigh's wedding and my Grandparents' 50th wedding anniversary party!

The kids watching a peacock at the zoo

Hunter and Shannon Sampling something at the farmer's market

Natalie pushing Hunter in the stroller at the zoo

Hunter pushing Natalie in the stroller to the park

Wow, that's a big lion

Swimming at Dave's( Shannon's boyfriend) pool

Hunter at Chuck E. Cheese

Shannon, Great Grandpa, Natalie & Kelli at Chuck E. Cheese

Hunter in a bubble at WOW

Natalie in the wind room at WOW

The "tickle monster" is chasing the kids at Jump Street

Taking a rest from jumping at Jump Street

Looking at the "bone dinosaurs" at the museum

Hunter and his imprint at the museum

just "monkeying around" at the museum

Hangin' like mom at the museum

"my do it too"

Grandma and Pa cut their 50th wedding anniversary cake

Disney World!

2009-06-11T00:17:00.007-06:00

So I know that most of you are looking at my last post and thinking, "pictures of snow, now that has to have been a LONG time ago." I wish that that were the case. We were tired of STILL not being able to see our grass in April, so we thought we'd go somewhere warmer. Grandma and Pop Pop wanted to take the grandkids to Disney World (and decided to invite their mom as well.) Justin couldn't get the time off work and so had to stay home and bring the bacon.

The trip was a blast. I've never seen Hunter SOO excited in my life. We rode rides, got autographs (in the same autograph book that my siblings and I used when we went to Disney World as kids), kisses from Jasmine, saw fireworks, went swimming, went out to dinner...it was a three year old's dream. I think every conversation went something like this, "Hey Grandma, Can I....?" Grandma says, "Of course Hunter." He LOVED it.
Natalie would be so excited to see the characters...until it was our turn in the line. She'd say, "Pluto, yeah. Hi Pluto, Hi puppy. I love Pluto. I give Pluto a kiss." We go to meet Pluto, and she clings to Mom. We also thought that we were being smart to rent the double stroller so that both kids could ride and there wouldn't be any fights. We were wrong. Natalie walked more than she rode in the stroller. I kept trying to get her to ride in the stroller or be held, it's a little bit scary to have your 20 month old walking at Disney World, especially when she wouldn't hold my hand and say, "MY DO IT!"

The trip was a big success, the kids were thoroughly worn out every day. Well, so were Grandma, Pop Pop and Mom for that matter. I can't wait to be able to do it again.
Thank You Grandma and Pop Pop for a great vacation, and an experience that we wouldn't have been able to provide for several years!

Hunter and Pop Pop on the Buzz Lightyear ride (Hunter's Favorite)

Hunter got to "drive" the Monorail twice!

This time she even let him push a button, ooohh

Kelli and Natalie Swimming at the Hotel pool

Hunter and Pop Pop swimming

Everyone with Mickey Mouse

The tube ride at the kiddie place at Typhoon Lagoon

This is the life!

Kelli, The kids and Pop Pop at Typhoon Lagoon

Look We match!

Hey, We match too!

Pop Pop with both kids

Hunter outside the Buzz Lightyear ride

Kelli, the kids and Grandma in front of Cinderella's castle

Natalie is ready to go swimming!

If you want to see more pictures go to http://www.mcnierney.net/

Whirlwind

2009-06-10T09:20:00.001-06:00

We have had a whirlwind the last few months. Be ready for a lot of posts in the next little bit (all very late and after the fact).

Spring Break & Hanging with the Hale kids

2009-04-08T13:41:00.004-06:00

So our spring break included ice fishing, sledding and snow machining. The weather in Star Valley was bad, so we left for the cabin...where the weather was not much better. Jamie and Ben and their kids, and Kari and Maya were there as well, so even on the days it was too cold to go outside we had fun. The highlight of the week was going swimming at the rec center in Pinedale. (Hunter still mentions it in his prayers..."thank you that we could go swimming inside in the big pool, with the big slide and the submarine...") But sadly I have no pictures of the swimming. Here are some of the pictures of the days we did brave the weather outside, and the day after we got back when Jared, Kaylee, Whitnee and Aubree came to play in the front yard.

Sledding is always better when you get a ride up the hill from Grandpa

Natalie checking out Hunter's fish

Hunter posing with Justin and his fish

"the girls" on the ice fishing trip

Some of the kids in the front yard

An action shot of the snowball fight

Photo Tag

2009-03-02T08:54:00.003-07:00

Alisa had this on her blog, I think it's funny to see what you end up with! How to play: Go to your sixth folder and post your sixth picture in that folder!

So this is a picture of one of the horses that Justin trained, his name is Eddie. ( Lucky for me it wasn't the 5th picture in this folder, that was a fat belly picture with about one month to go when I was pregnant with Hunter).

Baby Tag

2009-02-23T10:02:00.004-07:00

Alisa tagged me with this cute idea (a while ago), but since I have two kids I didn't know how to choose which one to do, so I didn't! Hunter is in blue and Natalie is in pink (unless its true for both, then its still black), that way I don't have to keep repeating, "with Hunter..., with Natalie..."

1- Where were you when you first found out you were pregnant? Our apartment in Laramie; our house in Laramie (I guess technically the bathroom in both of those places :-) )

2- Who was with you? Justin

3- How did you find out that you were pregnant? Good old fashioned home pregnancy test

4- What was your first reaction to finding out you were pregnant? Thrilled! We were "not preventing both times" (I never say "we are trying"; we just stop preventing :-) )

5- Your Husbands reaction? He was so excited, but he said that he already knew.

6- Who was the first person you told? Family ( I can't remember who was first) we told our parents that night; we told family because they were going to see me soon (for Justin's graduation) and I was sure they would notice since I was already about 5 months pregnant!

7-Did you plan to get pregnant? yes

8-Was everybody happy for you? Of course!

9- Did you go out and celebrate? No, it sounds bad, but at the time it didn't even cross my mind to celebrate! No, I had a toddler at home.

10- Did you want to find out the sex? yes, (Justin said he already knew, and he was right both times!)

11- What was the sex? Boy; girl

12-Did anyone throw you a baby shower? Yes

13- If yes, who? I had two. My mom and sister threw one and my friends in Laramie threw the other. My mom and some good family friends in Colorado: the Walkers (no relation).

14- Did you get any outfits at the baby shower that you just knew you weren't going to put on your baby? Nope, everyone did very well

15- How much weight did you gain? 26 pounds with both

16- Did you loose all of the weight that you gained? yes plus more(I gained it back when I stopped nursing). All but about 3 pounds or so.

17- Did you get a lot of stretch marks? Unfortunately yes both times

18- What did you crave the most? Sonic cherry limeades; Popcorn and malted milk

19- Did you crave anything crazy? Maybe odd, but not crazy

20- Who or what got on your nerves the most? I don't remember anyone really (others may disagree)

21- Were you married at the time? of course

22- Did you have any complications during your pregnancy? With both I was induced because the baby wasn't growing well. My belly would suddenly stop measuring any bigger, with Natalie it actually measured smaller! I also had high blood pressure.

23- Where were you when you went into labor? At the hospital both times, I was induced

24- Did your water break? by the doctor; by the nurse midwife

25- Who drove you to the hospital? Justin both times

26- Did you go early or late? early

27- Who was in the room with you when you gave birth? My mom and Justin, plus the doctor and a some nurses; Justin the nurse midwife and 2 nurses.

28- Was it video taped? No

29- Did you have any drugs for the pain? Epidural

30-Did you go Natural or have a c-section? Natural, gotta love the five pound babies for that!

31- What was your first reaction after giving birth? I was exhausted and sooo happy. I was shocked, she was two weeks early and I had just gone in for a normal check-up and had not planned, nor was I ready, to have a baby that day. Then the labor was only about 5 hours! It just happened so fast and she was here!

32- How big was the baby(s)? 5 pounds 12 oz; 5 pounds 4 oz.

33- Did your Husband cry? No, just grinned

34- What did you name the baby(s)? Hunter Kyle; Natalie Dawn

35-Did the name have any significance to you? We wanted to have all our kids have middle names with significance. Kyle is Justin's middle name and his dad's name. Dawn is my mom's name.

36-Does the baby's name fit? I think so

37- Did the baby(s) have any complications? He got pretty jaundiced and had some trouble nursing, then got impetigo at about 2 weeks old; She had a two vessel cord, but she ended up not having any complications.

38- How old is your baby today? 3 1/2; 18 months

39- When is the next one(s) coming? Who knows; I've learned that it really isn't up to me.

40- If you could would you do it all over again? Of course!

Now I tag anyone who'd like to tell their pregnancy story, (I know that's cheating).

Valentine's Day

2009-02-17T15:05:00.004-07:00

We had a great Valentine's Day this year. Justin and I take turns planning Valentine's Day. Unfortunately (or fortunately I haven't decided) I seem to plan the years that we have a new nursing baby, so they are mostly at home or a quick dinner and Justin plans the odd years when we can go somewhere. They had some morning basketball games so we went to those and surprised Justin by decorating his truck with balloons, decorations and candy so he would see it when he left the games. I had done this once before when we were dating and I really can't remember HOW I had so many balloons, and how I got all the balloons outside into his car, it was filled to the point that he had to pop some to get in and drive. Maybe some of you can remember and fill me in. But this time, there were only a few balloons that we brought in trash bags, but it was still cute. I had also made a Valentine's Day CD that was in his CD player when he got in (the same one from the first time I decorated his car). It was a little easier this time since I had easy access to his spare key. :-)

Justin planned an overnight trip to Jackson Hole. All I knew was who was babysitting, when she was coming, that we were going to Jackson Hole, and he said to pack my warm clothes and something nice but still casual for dinner.

So our WONDERFUL babysitter, Ashley came at 4:00 and Justin was feeding the horses (and getting our skis which had been stored in Jamie and Ben's basement), so we left at about 4:45. We went night skiing and then checked into out "hotel". It was a place with cute cabins with a BIG bed and a fireplace. It was called Spring Creek Ranch and the views were amazing! We went to dinner and the food was great. But unfortunately we took NO pictures, we are really bad about that. So here is a picture of the Ranch from their website.

It was a great surprise and we had LOTS of fun! Thanks Honey for the GREAT Valentine's Day!

Fun in the snow...or car?

2009-01-15T09:19:00.006-07:00

The other day we took the kids sledding in Grandpa's "pond"( Hunter calls it Grandpa's big hole). One of the lots in the subdivision where our barn is (and where the house will be) has a reclaimed gravel pit that will be a pond someday, for now, its a big hole that's great for sledding. Natalie and I got in the car to move it to the other side of the hole, and she wouldn't come out. She just took off her boots and gloves, sat in the heated seat and smiled and smiled. I tried to get her to come back outside but she said, "NO, NO , NO" ( to get an accurate picture of this, imagine her shaking her head and waging her little finger at the same time). We have also been building snow men, and a snow fort!
We have noticed that Natalie and Hunter are very different. Hunter plays and plays and never complains that he is cold. He helped with the snowman and fort, and carried his sled up the hill by himself MANY times. Natalie doesn't like to be put down, she doesn't like to sled, and she only lasts about 10 minutes outside. We are hoping that this changes once she can move in her snow clothes! But here are some pictures of the fun.

Hunter and Justin after sledding

Sledding in the hole

Natalie in the car

The snow fort (notice Natalie is not in the picture, she was already inside)

The green is some colored water we added, just for fun

The snowman (and Natalie is smiling, maybe there is hope for her)

You should see the other guy...

2008-12-22T15:48:00.003-07:00

So just kidding about "the other guy" because the other guy was a tile floor and all that happened to "him" was getting covered in Hunter's blood. Hunter got his first stitches the other day. We were at the bank and he just tripped and fell. He smacked his chin and ended up needing two stitches. Sorry that the pictures are so bad, I was having a hard time getting him to stay still. I guess its better for him to be still while he is getting the stitches and wiggly for the pictures.

Here they are!

Notice the blood on his shirt

(and messy face from his treat for being a good boy at the ER)

ELF yourself results

2008-12-05T15:35:00.003-07:00

We saw this on a Friend's blog and laughed and laughed. Hunter wanted to play this over and over again, so have a laugh at our bobble headed expense.

Send your own ElfYourself eCards

Camp Grandma 2008

2008-12-02T19:56:00.003-07:00

Kelli's parents (Grandma and Pop-Pop) have a tradition that every year they get all the grand kids together and keep them for about a week. This tradition was started by Kelli's grandma; who called it "Camp Grandma." The first two years it was just Hunter, and this year it was just Hunter and Natalie, which made the scheduling a little easier. Kelli is starting to wonder if Hunter may be driving before he has cousins on her side of the family! (Just teasing Shannon, Pat and Quinn :-)) They went for about a week just before Halloween; this was the first time Natalie had been left overnight. Kelli went down with the kids and stayed the weekend to make sure that Natalie would do OK, and she did great, so Kelli left them for a week and Grandma and Pop-Pop drove them back. To see the WHOLE slide show go to http://www.mcnierney.net/, but here are some highlights. They went to Ocean Journey, the pumpkin patch, the Butterfly Pavilion, jumped on the trampoline, played with the new puppies and lots of fun stuff.

Making a "candy house"

The super heroes protecting the kitchen

Posing at the pumpkin patch

Happy Halloween (better late than never)

2008-11-11T10:01:00.000-07:00

Here are some of the pictures from our Halloween festivities. Justin was Elk hunting Wednesday and Thursday then had open gym on Friday after school, so... we tried to pack it all into a few hours Friday night, but I think it went well. We did make some Halloween cookies with the cousins earlier in the week, but the rest we did on Halloween. We carved pumpkins, decorated, and went trick or treating. We went to the Care Center (since I work there) and then made a few stops (Jaymie's, Kari and Mike's, etc.)and hit a few of the neighborhood streets. There was a trunk or treat, but it was not well advertised because we didn't know ANYTHING about it until it was almost over.

My little stinkers

The back view

Pumpkin #1 (Hunter's)

Pumpkin #2 (Natalie's)

Natalie "gutting" the pumpkins

Sadly the BEST picture I took of the kids and their cookies

The cookies

Kelli made the top three, Natalie's is bottom left Hunter's is bottom right

( I also didn't get any pictures of the cousins and their cookies, I know bad aunt!

I was a little preoccupied trying to help 6 kids make cookies and we only had about an hour.)

Hunter learned this song from his Grandma Walker

(Justin used to sing it when he was little)

From the mouths of babes...

2008-11-07T14:52:00.004-07:00

Since Justin has the camera on his father-son bonding hunting trip this weekend, I can't post the Halloween stuff yet, so here's something else. Inspired by a post of Amber's ( a while ago) I decided to keep track of some of the things that Hunter says that make me laugh. I think that he says something every day. So here are some things from the last week or so.

1. I had gotten an e-mail with funny things that kids had said when asked "what is love" so I asked Hunter and he said... "Its this" and gave me a big hug and a kiss.

2. My parents sent a box in the mail and aside from all the great stuff for everyone inside there were also some packing peanuts. Hunter climbed into the box and started throwing the peanuts into the air and shouting, "Hip, Hip, Parade."

3. When playing with his cars, he always starts of with "ladies and gentlemen" (said just like the "announcer guy" you know what I mean) then follows with something like "now here is the green car" as he drives it off the table.

4. He has started a phase of sometimes talking baby balk. So I'll say, "Hunter, talk like a big boy, please." One of the first times I said it he repeated EXACTLY what he had just said in a deeper voice.

5. After playing outside, "Mom, that was a great adventure wasn't it?"

6. We were sitting down for dinner and I was up getting one more thing from the kitchen. Hunter says, "Hey Kel, you say the blessing please." Then he folded his arms and closed his eyes. So I did!

7. He's always saying "that's not for babies, that's for big boys." Especially when Natalie is trying to play with his toys. He has recently added, "that's not for babies or for big boys, that's only for daddies (or mommies)" for anything I've asked him not to touch.

8. He often follows ANY suggestion he makes with, "that's a great idea!"

9. I was going through some boxes in the office looking for something and had some things out on the floor. Hunter came in and said, "Mom, did you make this mess?" with his hands on his hips. I said, "yes Hunter, I'm just looking for something." Hunter says, "Mom, it makes me sad when you do this, clean it up, please." I said, "Hunter, you don't have to be sad, I'll clean it up when I find when I'm looking for." A few minutes later he came back, "Mom, I SAID CLEAN IT UP, PLEASE." I said, "OK Hunter, I am." I could hardly keep from laughing.
I couldn't believe his tone, he was SO serious. It made me really think about what I say to him, do I REALLY sound like that? I must for him to say something like that .

10. On our way to Colorado for Camp Grandma, Hunter kept singing the Campbell's soup jingle in different voices, soft, loud, scary, deep... he just keep singing, "Campbell's tomato soup, Possibilities." I almost had to pull over.

11. Again on our way to Colorado, we got stuck in a traffic jam about 3 miles from our exit on I-25. Hunter asked me to roll down his window, when I did he Yelled, "Hey, move, get out of my way, I'm trying to go to Pop Pop's house!" Some people heard and just laughed.

12. In Nursery at church they made a book about Jesus Christ. When Justin picked him up from Nursery he said, "Dad, look. This is my book about Jesus Norman." We corrected him, but when I tried to figure out what he meant. I think that he was confused that He was Jesus Christ, but He was Sister Norman's brother (one of the Nursery workers).

13. I had worked a 12 hour night shift and had come home in the morning. I was getting the kids ready to take them to daycare so I could sleep. Hunter didn't want to go so I explained to him that I had worked all night while he was sleeping, and that I was really tired and needed to take a rest. He sighed and said, "OK Mom. I'll go to Jaymie's house, but only take ONE rest, OK?" I said OK and off we went.

The big red barn

2008-09-30T22:31:00.003-06:00

As some of you know we have been building a barn on our land in Smoot. It never would have been finished if it wasn't for all the help. Kyle and Bev worked on it while we were in Jamaica and Ben and Mike were there A LOT. For a few weeks Kyle and Justin would work for at least 12 hours a day. Kyle even brought his camp trailer and basically lived out there and continued working all day once Justin started school. Thanks to everyone for all your hard work! (for the record Kelli did help for a few hours one day, and brought the guys lunch on the days that they worked all day.)

Happy Birthday Natalie!

2008-08-23T21:36:00.001-06:00

Natalie is ONE! We can hardly believe it. She is such a sweet girl; she is always smiling and loves to give hugs and kisses. We love you sweet baby girl! Here are some of our favorite Natalie moments from her birthday party and the week of her birthday.

The princess (complete with b-day crown and fancy bib) and her dad

Her hair is FINALLY long enough for some pigtails!!

Stinker face (this is the picture that was on her b-day invitations

it said, "don't be a stinker, come to my party!")

The before cake picture...

The after cake picture. It was so cute, she only picked off the fruit,

she didn't even eat any of the cake!

Playing with her new kitchen

Here is a video that we took and Natalie just being Natalie

She is such a girl, she loves to put lotion on after her bath,

apparently I didn't put enough on, so she had to do some herself.

Jamaica, Mon

2008-08-14T15:35:00.012-06:00

As a very generous gift Kelli's parents (AKA Grandma and Pop Pop) took everyone to Jamaica for an early Christmas. We all had a blast! We stayed at the Sunset Jamaica Grand resort and went snorkeling, sailing, wind surfing, swimming, climbed The Dunn's River Falls, got to touch some Dolphins, Kelli got her hair braided and we ate a TON of food and drank A LOT of virgin Miami vices. (strawberry daiquiri and pina colada combined, yum...)

Justin, Kelli, Hunter and Natalie
On our way to Dunn's River Falls (Grandma stayed at the resort with Natalie because they wouldn't let her go) Notice Pop Pop's new outfit, since his luggage was lost, he says that he's "blending in" with the natives
Hunter and Aunt Shannon building a sand castle
Grandma and Pop Pop with the kids in the pool. (Its foggy because the camera went from the cold air conditioned room to outside)

There were only a few downsides to the trip; Justin got stung by a Jelly fish, Natalie got bit by a parrot, and they lost Pop Pop's luggage. (It took two days to get it back, because in Jamaica, its "island time" meaning that there is no sense of urgency, literally "no worries.")

Jelly fish track marks

This is Bob, he's the parrot that bit Natalie

One of the hits of the trip was that Hunter won a dance contest! (well it was a tie with another kid) The videos are pretty funny, so see for yourself!

He became famous at the resort for the rest of the week as Hunter from Jamaica.

P.S. If you want to see some more pictures of the trip go to mcnierney.net

Hunter to the rescue!

2008-07-11T11:07:00.003-06:00

Yesterday Hunter found a bird in his kiddie pool. He came running to me and said, "Mom, we gotta save the hurt birdie." So we scooped up the bird and put it in a box, Hunter added some grass and a toilet paper nest. Then he put in a cup of water and half of a kiwi. I looked over the bird and couldn't find anything wrong, but he wouldn't fly away. There was obviously something wrong with the bird because it had died several hours later. So I made Hunter wash his hands about a million times since we didn't know how the bird died.

McNierney family pictures

2008-07-08T10:32:00.001-06:00

We spent the fourth of July weekend in Colorado with Kelli's parents (AKA Grandma and Pop Pop). Kelli's friend Lindsay was getting married, it was Justin and Kelli's anniversary, and Great Grandpa Baldwin was going to be there. The drive was long, but the kids did very well (what did people do before there were portable DVD players?) Since the WHOLE McNierney family was going to be there Grandma thought that it would be nice to get some professional family pictures taken. But if you've ever tried to get a professional photographer for the 4th of July weekend at the last minute you'll know that it didn't happen. So we decided to just take them ourselves. We put our digital camera on a tripod, Justin did the set up then would set the timer and join us; here's what we got.

Our future's so bright...

Everyone on the grass

Wait Hunter is touching Natalie...and she's not crying!

In the front yard

Just the boys

Just the girls

They turned out pretty well for amateurs. The only things that were hard were that it was almost Natalie's nap time, and with a tripod the kids didn't have anyone to look at, so they are oblivious.

Our very own old faithful and Christmas in June!?

2008-06-25T21:57:00.006-06:00

Well we arrived in Star Valley and have unloaded everything and unpacked enough to live, making it very unmotivating to unpack the rest (especially since Justin has been gone at basketball and football camps). We have been settling in at the rental house and working on plans to fence off our land and build a barn so the horses can be wintered there. As part of that plan, we need to irrigate the land so that the grass (well, actually mostly dandelions) will grow and provide grazing and hay for the horses. Pipe irrigation is the way that is done around here, and this is our first shot at it...and it didn't turn out so well.

This is not how it is supposed to look. You are supposed to just have some nice sprinkler heads gently sprinkling the land, and not flooding with a geyser. So thanks to good neighbors, cell phones and a nice Water Master (or Water Marshall, I'm not sure which title he has) it was fixed and we are now successfully pipe irrigating our land.

The other surprise we had was our Christmas present arrived from Mom and Dad Walker. We had no idea it was even coming, but we got a call from Kari, who told us to make sure we were at home around 11:30 am. The next thing we know here comes an Ashley Furniture Store truck backing up our driveway. This is what they delivered.

We really LOVE it! It was the perfect gift; exactly what we would have picked out for ourselves but never would have been able to justify spending the money on a bedroom set. So thanks Mom and Dad Walker; its perfect! We just wonder who's going to help us move it when our house is built? It took two very strong men with belts and straps galore two hours to move it in and set it up...maybe they will come back!

Star Valley here we come!

2008-06-01T16:47:00.006-06:00

So our lives have been turned upside down. When we moved to Green River we knew that it would be temporary; maybe 4 or 5 years. Well those 4 or 5 years have turned into 11 months! Justin has accepted a job (along with coaching responsibilities) at the high school in Star Valley, WY. (For those of you who aren't familiar with Star Valley, it is actually a series of towns in western Wyoming near Jackson Hole. We will be renting a house in Afton while we build our house.) It seemed like we were waiting FOREVER to hear about an interview, and for the interview date to come once it was set. Then they offered him the job on the spot after the interview, and we have to be there by the 10th of June! So after it seemed like we were living in slow motion, now we are sprinting through life. We are trying to move all of our stuff (we just keep getting more and more and more...), two kids, two dogs, three horses (the rest we'll pick up later) and sell our house all in the next week.

So here is a quick update, and an excuse for why there hasn't been a post in a while (and why there may not be another one for a while longer).

But check out the great views in our future hometown.

Spring is here!

2008-05-06T14:48:00.004-06:00

The weather has finally taken a turn for the better. After a rough winter of a burst pipe in the basement, broken washing machine, broken sprinkler system pipe in the back yard and just recently a new hot water heater...it is a new season! It has been a while since we last wrote, so we'll catch you up. We fixed all of the above problems which involved flooding the laundry room several times, a 20 foot hole in the backyard and lots of help from Grandpa Walker (the joys of owning a home!). we both have new callings; Kelli was called to be the primary president and Justin was called to be the 1st counselor in the young men's presidency. The kids have grown, and grown... do they ever stop? Hunter runs and runs, and Natalie is working on crawling (She's done it once for Justin) We've been to a few baby blessings, baptisms and birthday parties and are hopefully home for a while.
But now spring is here, there are tulips blooming in our front yard and the kids have moved outside during the day. So hopefully things will calm down (wishful thinking we know.) Here are a few pictures of the kids playing outside. They were so excited that they could see the driveway that we decided to pull out the sidewalk chalk. Hunter colored pictures, and Natalie tried to eat it...but we were outside and loving it!
P.S. Natalie only has Hunter's hand-me-down hats, so she's wearing a blue baseball hat even though its not very girley she has to wear it because she doesn't have any hair to keep her scalp from being burned!

Hoping, and wishing and dressing for spring!

2008-04-03T16:40:00.009-06:00

Wyoming weather likes to play tricks on you. In the morning it will be sunny, offering hopes for a trip to the park after nap time, only to be squashed by wind and/or snow in the afternoon. Then one day it will be 50 degrees, then snow that night. So here at the Walker house we are hoping for spring. I know that Justin and Hunter would be content to bundle up and brave the weather, but Kelli and Natalie may have a different story! We've been trying to take walks in the evening with the dogs, but some nights Kelli wusses out due to cold or wind. But the cold does make you appreciate to wonderful Wyoming summers. Temperatures in the 80's and 90's; just perfect for enjoying the outdoors.
Here are the Kids' most recent pictures. They are all dressed for spring, even though it isn't quite here yet. We had them taken in Colorado while at Grandma and Pop Pop's house for Easter. While there we had lots of fun dying eggs, playing with an Aunt, Uncles, Grandparents, Great Grandpa, etc. Justin got in several rounds of golf ( in 40 degree weather one day), Justin and Kelli got to go out on a date, and we even celebrated Great Grandpa's 80th birthday!

Spring break in Wyoming

2008-03-19T11:07:00.009-06:00

So when most people think "Spring Break" they think of beaches, pick-nicks, bike rides, etc. Well, here in Wyoming we think SNOW. Some years spring break is, in fact, some of the best snow to enjoy. Last weekend (actually one week before spring break) we went to the cabin and had some outdoor fun of our own. We went snow machining and sledding. It was like a heat wave with temperatures in the 20's! A very special thanks to Grandma for watching the kids so that mom and dad could go for some nice snow machine rides! Here are some pictures of the kids.

I think she likes sledding

I don't think he has his driver's license yet, do you?

Snow machining with Dad Smiles all around (even though you can't see Hunter's under his "mask")

Snow machining with Mom

P.S. the pictures were just posed, when we really went on a snow machine ride, we wore helmets, but it's too hard to see faces with helmets on!

The teal Valentine's Day cookies

2008-02-20T11:38:00.005-07:00

This year for Valentine's Day Hunter and Kelli decided to make some cookies. Hunter likes to help his mom cook. They baked the cookies, and then set to make the frosting while they were cooling. Kelli suggested some pink or red frosting; Hunter said, "No." He didn't even want white frosting. He said he wanted green frosting. So Kelli let him add the food coloring to the frosting, and that was A LOT of fun. So after a few drops of green he added some yellow and a lot of blue and the frosting came out kind of teal in color. So they look a little strange, but they taste good.

You can also see in the picture of the cookies that some of them have some lovely fingerprints in the frosting. Hunter liked to scrape the frosting off with his finger and lick it or squirt the frosting from the piping bag right into his mouth. After either he always replied, "I love frosting!"

Tender Moments

2008-02-12T21:18:00.000-07:00

We have really been amazed at how much the kids are growing and changing! Natalie grows everyday and Hunter has really begun to embrace his role as "the big brother (or baby entertainer)." Just the other day Hunter kissed his little sister and looked up at his Mom and said, "Mommy, I love her." It was so sweet! So here are a few pictures of those moments that have really warmed our hearts.

Here is Hunter "reading" to Natalie.

Just admiring eachother :-)

Finally caught up with technology

2008-01-31T14:25:00.000-07:00

So we finally caught up with technology and started a blog. Hopefully we can keep it up to date! To start things out, we'll give a quick "status reoprt" of the Walkers.
We recently moved to Green River, WY in July when Justin accepeted his first teaching position. He teaches P.E. and Health; some of his classes are at the High school and some are at the alternative school. He is also coaching the JV girls basketball team. Kelli was comuting to Laramie for 1 month after the move to keep insurance coverage. She really loved her job as a nurse on the surgical unit. Shortly after moving we had two big events; Hunter turned two and Natalie was born. Kelli decided to take some time off to stay home with the kids (especially since Natalie won't take a bottle!) Everyone couldn't be happier!