Fun in West Valley

Wow! We haven't updated our blog for a while! I'm sure it's been disappointing to all our avid readers (haha!). I guess we'd better give a quick update!

We are now living with Bill's parents in West Valley while he looks for a new job. It has been a crazy couple of months (hence the no blogging), but we are now staring to really settle in. It has been fun being up around Bill's family! We were in Southern Utah for a while and it is great to be up here for all the Grant happenings!

Since being up here, we have had a lot of fun! Instead of boring you with all the details, I'll just post some pictures (in no particular order)!

Here we are at the Days of 47 Rodeo. Amanda was fine until they let off fireworks INSIDE the arena that scared her to death! Poor little cowgirl!

Feeding the ducks at Liberty Park

Hogle Zoo

Tired at Lagoon!

This picture is one of my favorites! I decided this week that I really could do more with Amanda's hair so I tried... this is the result: I just love her pig-tails! Today I actually trimmed her bangs because they were hanging down in her eyes! Trimming a 5 month old baby's hair is quite a task!

Amanda is getting so big and is loving life! She is so observant of everything around her and wants to reach out and grab anything she can... especially hair so WATCH OUT! It's so fun to watch her get more interactive and see more of her personality. We sure have fun with her!

Happy 4th of July!

We had such a fun 4th of July at my parent's house! It was actually just a relaxing day (except for the fact that Amanda REFUSED to take a nap and was quite a tired girl by the end of the day... don't let the above picture fool you!) Nothing really crazy happened... we just took it easy, played some games, and watched fireworks from my parent's backyard. They do the fireworks show in Hurricane right behind our parents house, so it is the perfect place!

Amanda was so cute during the fireworks show! She wasn't scared by the loud bangs and just watched and watched! I'm sure she thought we were putting on the pretty show just for her enjoyment! We would if we could! :)

Here is Amanda watching the fireworks show with her Grandma Bulloch!

And finally... introducing the newest member of our family.... our Golden Retriever pup Sadie! Sadie was a little more scared with the fireworks!!!

The Swine Flu

Well, we have been so busy lately!!! I have been meaning to update our blog for quite some time now, but haven't had time. I have a few minutes now... so here it goes!

We went up to the Ranch for Memorial Day weekend and it was sooo nice! We just took it easy and had a very relaxing weekend! I wasn't quite sure how Little Miss would take to camping, but she showed us that she is a good little camper! We actually slept right by the fire, and Bill did a good job of getting the fire going throughout the night so his girls wouldn't get cold!

Aspen Lake was stocked with fish last year, so we had a good time fishing... especially Bill! He even went out fishing by himself in the rain and caught quite a whopper! Monday morning he was especially lucky and caught 7 fish in a row! I even caught a couple myself!

The following weekend, we headed up to West Valley to go to Josh Reese's birthday party! It was so much fun! This is a very important annual party, which is like a mini High School reunion for Bill. It was fun to be able to visit with his friends, and let them meet Amanda! (sorry... no pictures of the party).

When we got back to Hurricane, the real fun started! Bill came home from work early on Monday because he didn't feel well and had a fever. Well, to make a long story short, he was sick all week long, finally went to the doctor, and found out he had the flu! Hey sent out some tests to see if it was the Swine Flu, but we found out yesterday that they are only testing those that are hospitalized (which Bill was not... thank goodness!). The doctor made is sound as if it really could have been the Swine Flu, but we don't know for sure. Bill was hoping that he would know for sure so he could make a T-Shirt that read: "Swine Flu Survivor" ... maybe he should anyway!

We were planning on blessing Amanda the following weekend. We were a little worried with Bill still getting over his sickness, but decided to go through with our plans anyway. On Friday, we went up to the cabin again with Bill's sister Becky's family to spend the night and play all day Saturday. What a fun time! It was so fun to have them up there. Bill's parents joined us on Saturday morning and had a good time up there as well. I am so lucky to have such fun in-laws! Amanda was great up there again too!
Amanda's blessing on Sunday was so neat! Like I have said, Bill has been very sick, and was worried about his voice during the blessing. He sounded perfectly healthy during the blessing. It was so neat to hear him bless our little Amanda! What a neat experience! We decided that Amanda will be a little singer too because she sang the closing hymn with us! I held her on my lap and sang to her and she made all sorts of cute little noises back! Way fun!!!

My grandma crocheted her beautiful blessing dress! What a special keepsake!

Amanda got passed around from family member to family member quite a lot, but was a pretty good sport about it! She is such a cute little thing, and I can't believe how much I love her sometimes!

The next few weeks will be just as busy! We are heading back up to West Valley this weekend for a baby blessing plus birthday/father's day celebrations! Most of Bill's family will be there and we are looking forward to seeing everyone!

The following Wednesday (only one week from today) by brother Charles gets home from his mission!!!!!! I am so excited to see him and have him meet Amanda! I have really missed that guy!

More Amanda Pics!

Mad after a bath!

Peek-a-boo!

Dressed for Church!

Crazy Bed Head!

New Year's Tradition

Okay... so I know that New Year's Eve is quite a ways away, but Bill has come up with a very fun tradition. Being the video wiz that he is, Bill has decided to make a yearly slideshow hitting the highlights of that year, to a song that was popular during that time. We are planning to watch the slideshow each year as part of our New Year's celebration! FUN!

Bill just finished the 2008 slideshow, and since we didn't have it for New Year's, we are sharing it now!

Too funny!

Okay, so my cousin Cara is extremely witty and has written about a condition called "reverse anorexia" on her blog. I enjoyed and related to it so much that I had to post it on our blog as well. It's just perfect!

Enjoy:

"I have a little condition that my sister and her friend have labeled "reverse anorexia." It is not in any medical books or the dictionary, but if it were, it would go something like this:

reverse anorexia: noun, 1. The opposite of anorexia. 2. The belief that one is skinnier than one actually is. Note: Women are particularly prone to this condition shortly after giving birth.

You will know you have this condition if you think "Gee, I'm feeling pretty thin. I'm absolutely sure those jeans will fit since they were so baggy before I got pregnant." Then you go to try them on they won't fit over your thighs, let alone zip up. You will know you have an advanced case of reverse anorexia if you actually start to believe that, despite what the scale says, the reason your clothes are tight is because your husband dried them when he wasn't supposed to and they all shrunk... ALL of them!

P.S. Seeing yourself on camera or in photos helps to cure this condition very quickly!"

I definitely think I have "reverse anorexia!" :)

Life is good!

Well, I can't believe that Amanda is almost 4 weeks old! I can definitely say that these four weeks have gone by WAY faster than the last four weeks of my pregnancy!!

Amanda is still doing great and changing so much every day! She is gaining weight like she is supposed to, and is still a very happy, good baby! I feel very lucky!

I will be glad when we can go out a little bit more and I don't have to stay in my basement apartment (lovingly referred to as "the cave") all the time. Bill is really great and lets me get out for a walk when he gets home and last night I actually ventured to WalMart for some shopping time all to myself! It was much needed!

Anyway, life is good and I just think my little Amanda is perfect! I love being a mom!