Dallin Turns 8!!

Dallin turned 8 on December 6. We had lots of fun. We had pizza, chips, cake, and ice cream (Dallin's favorites). Grandma Wendy, BreAnne, Judge, and Nick came up for the fun. Dallin got a new bike from us, a basketball from Grandma Hatch, and some cool Bakugan stuff from the Tippets clan. He also got money from his Dad, and great grandmothers. We try to encourage him to save it for something bigger, but it is always burning a hole in his pocket. I think he had a good time. BreAnne made him the adorable giant cupcake, and I made him just a plain old cake. Doesn't he look so enthusiastic.

This is what happened when BreAnne and I tried to kiss him on the cheek.

And this is what happened with the giant cupcake....Darn Uncle Nick.

We are so happy to have Dallin a part of our family. He is always making us laugh. We are so excited that he has chosen to be baptized. He will be baptized on January 2. We invite anyone who would like to atttend. I will get the address to you soon.

As for the rest of us, we are all doing well. Still getting settled in our house, but we are enjoying it, and are excited to spend Christmas in our first house. Sorry for not posting more often, things have been crazy lately. If anyone wants to come visit us in our new house, we would love to have you.

Update

We are officially homeowners!! After signing many, many documents. More to come after the big move.

Trick or Treat

Are You Kidding?

What a week! Not sure whether to laugh or cry. So the house we put an offer on in Centerville is most likely not going to pan out. The lender called us on Monday to inform us that we had to carry flood insurance, because this home was in a flood plain. At no time during this process, was it disclosed to us that we were required to carry flood insurance. Flood insurance---$141 per month (not including homeowners insurance). Thats right, $1700 per year. This completely defeated our purpose of trying to stay within a certain budget. With our repairs addendum, we submitted a much lower offer to off set the cost of the insurance, but the sellers are more then likely not going to accept it.

We waited for a month so the sellers could find a place in St. George, which put us way behind schedule of finding another place in order to close by November 30. Our lender said we would have to have another house under contract no later than this Friday in order to have funding go through by the end of November. We looked at houses with my brother last night in Woods Cross, which around here is not considred the best place to live, but we think the neighborhood looks like a good, family oriented area. The houses are smaller but newer. I am still not ready to make a decision. Hopefully, we will come to conclusions soon. Maybe we will wait.

House Update

The home that we have under contract is in Centerville, which is right next to Bountiful. We are very happy to be staying close to Chris's work, and love the Centerville/Bountiful area. We looked at a lot of houses closer to the Layton area because they were more in our price range, but we really didn't want to move from this area. We like Chris to be close to work. Real estate in Bountiful and Centerville is really expensive.

This house was listed on Monday, my brother (our agent) took us to look at in on Wednesday; and there were two offers on it by Thursday. We liked the house quite a bit, but weren't set on it because it isn't quite as big as we wanted; and it pretty much doesn't have a backyard. It does have however; a new furnace, new central air, a new H2O Water heater; a new kitchen which comes with all of the appliances, and it is very clean and taken care of. We had been looking for weeks, and looked at many houses. We liked a few, but they were not in the location that we wanted, and some were priced higher then we wanted to go. Overall, we think this is a great starter home for us. We have to start somewhere, right. At least that is what Chris has been telling me--I'm not a very good risk taker.

Because there were mutiple offers each party could put in there max price they would pay for the home. Our offer beat over the others by just a little (at least that is what the listing agent said :). I have had my worries, but feel good about this house. It is in an awesome location; and it was priced well for the area.

The couple that live in the house are retiring to St. George; and so they are looking for a place to buy. We have to wait until they find a place---hopefully this weekend. If they don't find a new home, we are not tied to the contract. More than likely we won't be moving until the middle of November. We will keep you updated. When we do move, we could use all the help we can get.

Under Contract...Scared to Death!!

We finally did it. We bought a house (as long as everything goes through okay). I practically had a nervous breakdown, havn't slept in days, and may have said a few bad words. Chris of course has been completely calm during the entire process. The new house even comes with a 100% retro bathroom. Check it out here http://www.circlepix.com/tour.htm?id=745068&mls_tour=1.

A Typical Evening with the Boys!!

So this is what we do for entertainment in Bountiful. Colter is still struggling with learning to walk (especially with his new shoes). Listen carefully to the fighting in the background. Tanner didn't learn that from me. Sorry that I'm not much of a blogger. I'm lucky to actually get five minutes to add a post---Colter is a handful. I will try to do better.

Another Great Fathers Day

Well, if you know Big Mark you know this had to be the greatest Fathers Day gift he has ever received. A signed poster of his all-time favorite President.

Dad, you're a great American.

Tippets Family Reunion - Our journey was not as peaceful as it would appear!

Well, after moving and living in Bountiful for less than a week we packed up again and headed to the Tippets Family Reunion near Granby, Colorado. The worst part about the trip was the 6 hour drive that turned into a 91/2 hour drive. Our first delay was caused by Dalloin getting carsick because he was playing his Nintendo DS. This resulted in him puking all over himself and the car. The next delay happened in Vernal. We got out to eat at WalMart and little Cj had messed his pants something fierce. For the final 45 minutes (or so we thought) Colter was ornery and crying. My first road trip with a baby was not as fun as I had envisioned. When we got to Gransby we followed the directions we had gotten off of Yahoo Maps. This was a major mistake because we ended up in the middle of nowhere. When we asked a nice old lady for directions to our destination she laughed at us and said we were way off. Which we were. It was about another 15 miles away.

We finally arrived...late. We were however pleasantly surprised by our accomadations and it was a beautiful area.

The next 2 days were fun and the normal crazy Tippets traditions played out as expected. There was the famous Tippets rap (twice). The singing of Cowboy Joe. The telling of the 2 stories about anything that the Tippets family has ever done that would be considered great (twice), and a whole lot of yelling at the kids getting them to calm down and not run around.

We also had a great time playing games and catching up with family that we do not get to see regularly, and those we do. We can't wait for the next one in 3 or 4 years.

Colter Turns 1

So obviously its been some time since we last posted anything. We moved, which kept us fairly busy for a couple of weeks (not to mention away from a computer), went on the Tippets family reunion to Coloroado our first weekend after moving, followed up by the Stubbs family reunion in Heber the next weekend. All in all it has probably been the busiest month of our marriage. Not to mention this weekend we have Andrea's cousin's son who is getting married as well as my Grandmothers 80th birthday Celebration.

Just prior to this crazy time in our life Colter had his first birthday. We had a small get together at our home with mainly family. Colter got the standard birthday cake (which was pretty much his first cake ever). He loved it! He ate til he was about ready to fall asleep.

Then it was time to open up his presents. He made out like a bandit with a boat load of toys and candy.

At one, Colter definately is starting to show his personality, he wants everything, especially cell phones and remote controls. He loves to play with anyone, and especially likes any kind of food with sugar (definately a Tippets). He is an absolute train wreck...he makes a mess out of everything, and is STILL constantly drooling.

He still is not walking..he's close. He will stand, look around, and then sit back down and crawl around. He is on the other hand a very fast crawler. Which is why I think he hasn't started walking yet.

He keeps us busy, but we love him and don't know what we would do without him (other than get some sleep).

It's official, we're moving to...Bountiful!!

Last week I was offered a job in Bountiful, at Benchmark Regional Hospital. It's an adolescent treatment center and I'm not really sure why they call it a hospital, it's a little deceiving. We decided to accept the offer and we spent the entire weekend searching for a place to rent for a few months.
Now comes the really fun part of packing.We're pretty sad to be leaving Utah Valley because we have both grown up here and it's pretty much the only home we have ever known. On the other hand, we are very excited (and a little nervous) to be moving to a new place, with new opportunities.

Yay! Christopher Passed His Licensing Exam

Yay!!!!

We are so proud of Chris for passing his Clinical Exam for Social Workers. He has worked so hard; and we are so happy that he passed this very difficult exam. Now if BYU could just get the diplomas mailed he will officially be a therapist. Too bad the job market is in such a mess right now. That is the next big feat; finding a job.

Our 4 Year Anniversary

Well...it's been 4 years to the day that we have been together as a family. Alot has happened in that time. I thought I would give an update on each member of our family and how they have progressed since our marriage began.

Andrea

Andrea has gone from working part-time at Gardner and Associates to a full-time student at U.V.U., and back to being a part-time employee at Digis. Last June she gave birth to Colter and she has been home taking care of him ever since. He is a full-time job, he's into everything, and demands a lot of attention. She is a great mother and wife. Almost every night she prepares dinner and always sees to it that everyones needs are met. She is very hard working and cares deeply for her children. She spends countless hours studying with them, working on scouts, and having fun with them.

Chris

I continue to work at Heritage School, a residential treatment center for adolescents. Two years ago I graduated fromU.V.U. with my Bachelors Degree in Behavioral Science. I was then accepted to B.Y.U. in the Masters of Social Work program, which I just just graduated from last week. I completed internships at The Cirque Lodge (drug rehab), and The Utah State Prison, working with the women who struggle with substance abuse. I loved these experiences and look forward to new experiences as I am currently looking for employment as a therapist now that I have graduated. I have put on about 20 pounds over the 4 years we have been together, but I am excited to have a little more free-time to work it off at the gym and playing sports. I love spending time with Tanner and Dallin and I have grown quite fond of them. I am soooooooo greatful for the opportunity to be their father and be such a large part of their lives. They are so fun and are growing up to be very good young men. I am excited for their future and the role I get to play in it. They are finally adapting to me and some of my interests and I enjoy taking them to BYU games and playing baseball with them.

Tanner

Tanner just recently turned 10 years old and is in the 4th grade at Vineyard Elementary. He is a wild, caring, and energetic boy. He has progressed immensely in the last 4 years. He works hard in shcool and is a good student. He is in scouts like to play soccer and baseball and playing with friends in the neighborhhod. He is especially smooth with the ladies and has several girlfriends.

He loves to ride his bike, and goes on several bike rides with his mommy. More than anything he likes to spend time with his brother Dallin, they are always getting into trouble and making messes. He is especially good with his new little brother Colter.

Dallin

Dallin is now 7 years old and in the first grade. He is a stellar student and a great reader. Over the past 4 years he has developed an addiction for anything super hero. Each day it seems he is obsessed with a different super-hero. He also is very smooth with the ladies and is already inviting them over to our house to play. He enjoys watching movies and spends a lot of time with his brother Tanner. He, unlike Tanner has not taken to Colter as well because he is always chewing on his toys and getting in his way. He definately has a very caring heart and is always concerned with others feelings.

Colter

Colter is 10 1/2 months old. He's a punk. He's into everything and whatever it is, it always goes into his mouth. He's full of energy and is constantly on the go and seeking attention. He has the coolest blue eyes I have ever seen and he knows how to use them. He gets whatever he wants.

We are so glad that the lord blessed us with him and look forward to his development and growth.

Our latest family photo

The Graduate!!!

Chris has officially gradutated from college, and we are so proud of him. He worked so hard to get to this point. We had lots of fun attending all the graduation festivities; however, the convocation was overwhelmingly long. He was about the 30th name called of over 700. Grandma T rented Colter a cap and gown.

We are grateful for all those that were able to attend the graduation. Amber also graduated the same day. It was at the same time in a different building of BYU. We had to split up, but it all worked out well.

Congratulations to both of them!

Tanner Turns 10!!!

Tanner's Birthday was on April 13, and he turned 10. Tanner went to the park, and had lots of fun at Chuck-e-Cheese. We are all glad that we got to spend the day with him. I can't believe how quickly he is growing up.

My Big Sister's Birthday

Yesterday, we went to lunch at Los Hermonos for Tammy's Birthday. We had lots of fun and enjoyed spending time with Tammy. It was a good day, and I think that Tammy felt like she was loved. I won't tell you how old she is because she might get mad, but she is almost 12 years older than me.



Colter on the other hand was not so happy when the workers came to sing happy birthday to her.The little guy got a little freaked out.

Look Who's On TV

Vineyard was the Cool School of the week on Fox 13, and Tanner's class peformed "How Laws Are Made", which was written by his teacher, Mr. Eager. Tanner seems a bit nervous, but he did a great job. He even got to stand next to the girl he has had a crush on since First Grade. Sorry I couln't figure out how to make the movie smaller; so it cuts off part of it.

Happenings

The pinewood derby was last week and was lots of fun for the kids. Tanner's car didn't win, but he had lots of fun and was proud of his car. Tanner's car was named the "Firery Hot Zoomer". He and Chris did an awesome job on the car.

These are the twinkie cars I made for the scouts. Chris wanted me to specify that those are headlights and not breasts. Of course he would think that way.

Dallin had fun running around in the back throwing his frisbee from his Arby's kids meal.

Colter is also officially crawling, and he is into everything. I think he may be the busiest kid ever. This is the first time he crawled forwards instead of backwards; and he is only improving on a daily basis. He crawled all the way to the bathroom this morning while I was blow drying my hair. Of course he can't be left alone for more than a minute.

Dallin had to go to the denist to get his two front teeth pulled, because his adult teeth were growing in behind, and his baby teeth were not going to budge. He did really well, and was even extra smilely with all the laughing gas. He has two big holes where his teeth were pulled. The "tooth fairy" vistited him that night, and even let him keep his teeth because he left a special note begging her to leave his teeth.

Here Comes Trouble

I haven't been very good on my monthly updates of Colter. He is 8 months old and is growing so fast. I can already tell that he is going to be trouble. He grabs at everything in site. He is sitting up by himself and starting to get up on all fours. Uggh! He moves along the floor like an inch worm. Next comes crawling, which I'm not looking forward to.

He is still as spoiled as ever. You can't leave the room without him crying. I have to bring him to sit at my feet wherever I am in the house. He is not a very good napper and still wakes up at night. He is definately a high maintenance child, but we still think he is as cute as ever. He sprouted his first tooth at around 6 1/2 months (thank goodness I was done nursing). He just got a second tooth in the last couple of weeks. The one tooth grin is so silly. I think he is probably cutting more teeth because he drools non stop. We have all these cute clothes for him to wear, but we always have to cover them up with a bib.

He is still a tiny little guy. He just started fitting in his 6-9 month clothes. The last time I took him to the doctor he was 15 lbs. 4 oz., which was in the 2 percentile for his weight. He is in the 76th percentile for his height. He has finally started eating some solid foods. He wasn't very interested in anything other than formula until the last few weeks. He likes sweet potatoes, carrots, and baby cereal (oatmeal) with applesauce, pears, or bananas. He hates peas, and is not a big fan of squash or peaches. He loves his biter biscuits, but makes a huge mess so we only give them to him before his bath. He likes sweets too, I let him have part of a sucker the other day. He also loves to listen to music and watch the itunes visualizer. When all else fails, I put him in front of the computer to watch the visualizer---that helps for at least 5 minutes.

It seems like he has been sick non-stop for the last few months. In the last 2 months, he has had at least three colds, an ear infection, and a stomach bug. Hopefully, he is building a stronger immune stystem.

It too bad, he can't fold the clothes.

He loves to play with his Dad.

It's time to lower the crib mattress.

Sitting up like a big boy.

We love our little Colter, and are excited to see what other joys and challenges he will bring.

The Countdown has Begun

As most of you know, Chris has been in school since before we were married. He has completed his Bachelors from UVU, and will be graduating this April with his Masters in Social Work. I am so proud of him. It will be so nice to have him out of school. We are all looking forward to the upcoming months. He has worked so hard, and deserves nothing but the best.

Links for Digital Scrapbooking

For, those of you interested. These are some of the cool websites that you can get free digital scrapbooking stuff. There are a whole bunch out there, but these are my favorites.

http://summertimedesigns.blogspot.com
http://trishhdesigns.blogspot.com
http://digifree.blogspot.com
http://www.freedigitalscrapbooking.com/

I Finally Figured it Out!

I have spent a huge portion of the day trying to figure out how to create my own blog background and header. I finally figured it out. I'm not very creative. This background and header may be a little busy, but I made it all by myself.

Chris and I are attempting digital scrapbooking. I made this scrapbook page using the Memory Mixer software that Chris got for Christmas (Yes, that is what he asked for). There are lots of websites that have free downloadable digital scrapbooking stuff. There are some really creative people out there. I will post some websites when I get a chance.


I'm not very good at this yet, but I'm hoping to get better.

Flashback of Dallin's Past

So Tanner and I were talking the other day, and he reminded me of a very funny thing that Dallin had done a couple years back and he thought that I should "put it on the blog". When Dallin was about four or five, he was obsessed with superheros. In fact, there were days when he really thought he was a super hero, and would not answer unless we called him by his super hero name (i.e. Batman, Spiderman, Wolverine, Superman, etc.), which would change on a daily basis. He would wake up and say, "I am _____ today."

One evening while we were playing games with friends, I sent Dallin to brush his teeth and get ready for bed. After a while, I went in to check on him and he was on the counter with a can of hairspray and a comb trying to get the superman curl. He used practically an entire can of hair spray that I had just bought (the good kind from the beauty supply store). We had just gotten him out of the bath, but his hair was so sticky and hard that we had to give him another bath. We were all laughing so hard. I wish I would have taken a picture of the mess he made, but I forgot.

The reason I write this post is because it seems that time goes by so fast and I don't want to forget the funny little things that they do.

Colter and His Very Miserable Cold

So our little baby has come down with this horrific cold, and he is one miserable little baby. We have taken him to the doctor twice because I thought he may have had an ear infection or something of that nature. Just a cold and a sore throat, and a miserable cough. I'm still trying to get used to trying to read the symptoms in a baby who can't tell me what's bothering him. I'm used to having big kids who can tell me how they are feeling. He won't sleep or eat very much. The good news is that he is getting really good at holding his own bottle. Yay for me!

On a happier note, Colter picked out his very own high chair. I wanted to get one that cost less and with a more sophisticated pattern, but Colter and Daddy wouldn't have it. We let him try the high chair out at the store, and when we took him out he practically jumped out of our arms to get back in. He liked the toy that you can put on the tray. In fact, he wouldn't let go of it and lifted the whole tray up by himself. Yep, that's my tough little boy. He had his first "biter biscuit" in it today, and made a huge mess.

Christmas Slide Show

CHRISTMAS

Wow! What a busy month December was for us, Chris finished up another semester and much to his surprise, he actually passed all of his classes. Andrea, kept her sanity between watching a demanding 6 month old little boy, 2 more who were out of school, baking lots and lots of treats, and shopping for gifts.

We had a Christmas party on every Saturday of the month. It started with the Stubbs family party on the sixth (also Dallin's birthday). This was a very long party, but we had a great time. The highlight of the noght(other than being together with the entire family), was the white elephant gift exchange. Someone created a photoshop version of my Grandma Stubbs with her face and the body of a model. Really funny. It really threw Colter for a loop. He's usually scared of my grandma for some reason but I think the fact that this time he saw her in a bathing suit, which made him think it was dinner time. Suddenly, his opinion of grandma changed.

Next came our ward party.

...then the Jakeman family party. Which for some reason we didn't take alot of pictures. I think it was because we were in charge of the craft time for the children so we got side tracked. We had a great time here as well and there was tons of good food and really just a good opportunity to visit and catch up with everyone.

Dallin also had his Christmas program where the entire first grade sang Christmas songs for about 30 minutes.

Christmas was great!!!!

Everybody got everything they wanted and then some, and we really enjoyed having Colter around for his first Christmas. We truly are a blessed family, and it was great to be around all of our family and spend time with them, this only helps to reinforce how truly lucky we are to have each other and to understand the gospel and the joy and comfort it brings into our lives. Andrea and I feel very fortunate to have three beautiful healthy children and means to provide for them.

On a sad note my Grandma Stubbs was having heart problems and was taken to the hospital early on the morning of the 27th. This gave a bad scare, apparently some of her arteries were blocked upto 90% and because of her being nearly 80 years-old they did not know if they could operate or not. Luckily, she has enough good arteries that with watching her diet and proper exercise they think she'll be o.k. This was great news for her favorite Grandson Chris because he can't imagine a world without her in it. She is truly one of the most wonderful women the world has ever seen. Hopefully, she'll be around and in good health for many more Christmas'. This only helped to further drive home how fortunate and blessed we are. We felt that our Heavenly Father was watching over her and our family at this time and it helped make for a humbling holiday season.

On a happier note, on the 30th my sister Amber was propsed to...and she accepted. She is now engaged to Han and they are planning to marry in May when school is out. Congratulations Amber!

Hopefully 2009 will be as good a year as 2008 was (maybe even better).