Lesson Learned...

We learned a lesson during our trip back home:

DON'T GO OUT OF TOWN

WITH A DEAD CAMERA BATTERY

AND FORGET THE CHARGER!

Yep. The first time we pulled our camera out to take some pictures on our trip, we found out the battery was very close to dead. So, we only have a few pictures. And I mean, VERY few. But here they are, plus a video from tonight. Enjoy!

"This is why I like sitting with dad!"

One tuckered out little guy...

A highchair is not JUST for eating:

Home From the Holidays

We got to go down to Mesa for Christmas for 2 whole weeks! We had a great time with both our families and now we're back home in Rexburg. I'm back in school now, taking 13 credits. My schedule is pretty nice. I don't have any classes on Tuesday/Thursday, so I still get to be home with my baby those days. Yay!! Jopes is off-track now, so he gets to take care of little Joseph while I'm at school. He is also searching for a job. Little Joseph's top teeth are FINALLY breaking through! They started coming in back at Thanksgiving time, so we are very glad that they are coming in now. He keeps getting better at walking, though we're not quite there yet. Heavenly Father has greatly blessed our little family and we are so grateful. We're very excited about the new year and what it holds for us.

Christmas in the Snow

Becca had her Womens Glee Christmas Choir Concert last night and Jopes and I were able to go! We had our friends, Walter and Aria (and little Luca) over for some brats before the concert started, and then Aria stayed at our place to watch little Joseph while Jopes and I went to the concert. Our first babysitter experience, besides family! I was able to get Joseph down to sleep before we left, but go figure, he woke up 20 minutes after we left! Aria was perfect though, and took great care of him, even if he wasn't too thrilled to find his mom and dad weren't home! Rebecca had a bad cough and wasn't able to sing every word, but we thought the concert was great nonetheless! Her choir was combined with the RixStix percussion group. Some numbers were just the choir, some were just the percussion, and the others were performed together. It was a lot of fun to get out with Jopes and know that little Joseph was in good hands (THANKS ARIA!), though I was happy to get home and see him. Rebecca did great and looked beautiful and we hope she gets better soon!!! :)

The Winter Cold Is Here!!

The winter cold has arrived! This picture is from one of the first snows, but since then the temperature of Rexburg has dropped tremendously! I bundled little Joseph up today so we could go out and get the mail. He hates facing inward when we carry him, so of course, he was looking the direction we were walking. Well, the poor little guy couldn't breathe, it was so cold! He kept looking at me, trying to figure out what was wrong! He wasn't sure whether it was funny, or scary, either! He mostly gave me confused/worried looks, but once he giggled a little.

Anyway, besides having the cutest baby in the entire world, we only have a week and two days until Jopes is done with his classes! Then, we get to go home for Christmas!! We're very excited. Oh! We got past our brick wall with the apartment... I'll have to take some pictures and get them up.

Brick Wall

Well, the move has been going very slowly. At first it was going slow because Jopes has school during the week, so we had to wait until he was done with classes to start bringing car loads of stuff over. I was super excited and motivated though, at first. As the week dragged on, however, I got less and less motivated. Now, the last thing I want to do is drag myself over to the old apartment and load up the rest of our junk, and then try to find a nice, organized place for it all here at our new apartment. :-( Boo.

We've hit a brick wall and we don't even have that much left! It seems like a never ending, totally annoying task, though. What to do?? I know, suck it up and get it done. Bleh. Still easier said than done. That said, we've been able to unpack and organize just about all of what we DO have moved over and we really like our new apartment. It already feels like home to us. Maybe because we've already washed a million loads of laundry and dishes! :)

We are thrilled to be using our fabulous washer and dryer, and to have a dishwasher!

Hurray for these tender mercies in life!

Halloween

Happy late Halloween!! We had a good one this year. Last year we moved the night of Halloween. This year, we didn't. We moved the day AFTER Halloween! :) But first, about our Halloween.

As you can see, little Joseph was a pumpkin. Kirt and Brenda let us borrow this wonderful costume, which was made by none other than... Grandma Jamison!!! We loved it. We didn't stuff it though. We needed to fit him into his carseat. He was still an adorable little pumpkin though!

We had a ward party a few nights before Halloween, and then a friend threw a Halloween party the night of. Aria did a GREAT job! She did an incredible job and put so much time and effort into it. The decorations, the food, the games, the company...

they were all fantastic!

Oh! I forgot to mention... Jopes was a scarecrow and I was another pumpkin, though my costume wasn't as cool as the other two. We had fun though, and love being together.

That's it for Halloween news, but real quick about the move--we moved to a new apartment! We really like it, and yes, that means we are no longer assistant managers. We are really enjoying that, too! :) Give us another week to get settled and then we want you all to come visit!! We'll post pictures too, as soon as we can. Love ya! TTFN!