The Dunton's

Big week

2012-03-02T20:05:00.005-08:00

This has been such a BIG week for Ms. Ry. Apparently she thinks that her turning 9 months means she is a big girl now and CAN crawl, drink out of a sippy, pick up food with her fingers and walk around all of the furniture. It's so crazy how fast she learned all of these big mile stones. Aaron and I have had so much fun watching her finally figure out how to crawl. It sure has been a long time in the making. haha I thought she would totally skip the crawling stage since she walks along our couch like a pro. Rylie is so funny because she still resorts back to her "fish out of water" move when she gets tired or just lays her head down so cute!

Here are some pics from this week:

Cruising around the furniture. P.S. she LOVES the remote more than her bucket full of toys. Silly girl I love her serious concentration and determination :)Rylie LOVES to help me with the laundry.Daddy and his smiley girl

Baby girl sure does LOVE apple juice. That was the trick to learning how to hold her sippy :)Me and my mom have been super busy getting all the preschool stuff ready and we got this super cute car. I had to get a pic of Ry in it. Shes sooooooo sweet!! Just love her to pieces :)

Wow!! It has been a fun and busy week!

Oh and here are her 9 month stats:

Weight- 19.6 lbs (50%)

Length- 27.5 in (75%)

Head circ- 18 (90%)

8 Months

2012-02-26T20:19:00.004-08:00

Ekk I'm running behind on my posting since today Rylie turned 9 months!!! So here is a quick up date of her 8th wonderful month:

Celebrated her first Valentines day!!! Such a sweetie pie!!

Takes baths like a "big girl". Sleeping at night and naps WITHOUT her "life jacket". This is a BIG deal in our house because Ry wouldn't sleep on her tummy so every time she rolled over, I would have to get up in the middle of the night to flip her over but those days are over. Finally!!!! Baby girl can now sleep on her tummy great!!! yay!!!Sitting up like an old pro and reads like her daddy haha.She still hasn't learned to crawl or even slightly like to be on her tummy. I call this her "fish out of water" move.Baby girl LOVES Mickey Mouse Club House. I swear she will sit just like that and watch the whole episode. Don't judge me :)

Like always, it's been a fun and exciting month! I'll be posting (soon) about her 9 months and hopefully all goes good tomorrow at her check up. Poor baby girl has to get some shots.

Standing

2012-02-03T11:57:00.000-08:00

Attention folks....we have a STANDER!! :) She is pretty much the cutest thing ever. I just want to pinch her little chubby legs!

Try to look past her bald spot haha

Baby girl is 8 months now. I'll be posting more about her 8 months soon.

Preschool next year

2012-01-27T13:12:00.000-08:00

I've been thinking alot about next school year and how I'm going to bring myself to leave Rylie every single day for 40 hours a week. Well I (we) decided that I just can't do it yet, I LOVE being at home enjoying Rylie being a baby. She is only a baby once and I want to be here to see all of her firsts and help her grow into a great little girl. I know that tons of babies go to daycare and turn out just fine (I went to daycare when I was like 6) but I just love our special time together too much to give it up just yet. So I've taken a lot of time to think about how I can contribute financially to our family because lets be honest, you have to have money in life to survive and we just can't make it on one income forever. I am going to start a Preschool out of our house for next school year! I can't believe that I didn't think about this sooner. I LOVE teaching and I LOVE being at home so why not just combine the two??? duh!!! I'm in the middle of getting all the details figured out but I'm for sure going to do it. I seriously CAN'T wait! I'm sooooooo excited that I can hardly sleep at night. We are turning our master bedroom into the Preschool. I know most of you are probably thinking that I'm crazy but sometimes you have to sacrifice (our space) things inorder to get what you want. I'm hoping to get 6 preschool students (3-4 year olds) for a morning session three times a week(Mon, Wed, Thurs) for three hours a day. This is really going to be the best of both worlds. I get to stay home with my lovely baby and teach at the same time. yay!!! Rylie will be going to a babysitter during the preschool time which will be good for her socially. double yay!! So if you are reading this and you have a preschooler send them my way!! :) I'll be posting a flyer I made soon with all the details or my email is LDunton2830@yahoo.com

Adventures in Babysitting

2012-01-27T12:46:00.000-08:00

This month I started watching a 10 week old little girl named Luna whos daddy works with Aaron at UofP. They carpool to work alot and Luna's momma had to go back to work so I decided to help them out for a little while (and we could always use the extra $). I thought that it wasn't going to be that difficult since Rylie is becoming more independent and plays by herself more. Boy oh boy was I dead WRONG!!! Baby Luna is super easy but baby Rylie is SUPER jealous of her and doesn't like when I hold Luna or even look in her general direction. It has been a HUGE adjustment for Rylie and I but Rylie is starting to do much better. I think it is really good for Ry to get use to other babies and not having 100% of my attention. I don't want her to be "that baby" that can't leave me when she goes to school or when I leave her with family and friends. Here are two pics that I took that basically sum up our babysitting experience the first few days: Rylie's face is priceless and if there were a thought bubble above her head I think it would say "umm, who is that baby? and why is she using MY toys?"
This is how I spent lots of time the first few days. BOTH babies wanted to be held all the time. Lets just say that I was SUPER tired that first week.

Now that it's been three weeks, things seem to be getting better or I'm just getting use to the madness of two babies :)

Kansas Trip

2012-01-27T12:09:00.000-08:00

We started off the new year with a family reunion trip to Kansas for my Grandmas 75 (surprise) birthday party. I was getting really nervous to travel on an airplane with Rylie since she had never been on one but surprising enough she did pretty darn good. The flight was about two hours and went by faster than I thought. The flight back was a little bit rougher but overall Rylie did a great job and we didn't make too many passengers upset with a crying baby.

Anyways, we had such a blast hanging out with our entire family. There were so many babies and little kids running around, 15 under 5 to be exact. It was great to catch up with all of my cousins, Aunts, and Uncles. It's crazy how much all of our families are growing. I believe someone did a head count and there are 52 people with one on the way in our family now. I sure do love having a big family.

While we were there my flexiblity was really tested. For those that know me, I am a crazy schedule mommy and like to have things in order on my time. I knew that on this trip I would have to go with the flow with nap times and well I'm just not good at going with the flow but I survived and so did Rylie. Rylie had to sleep in our bed every night (I sercetly loved it) because she doesn't sleep good in pack-n-plays. Overall, we had a great trip and can't wait till we can go back.

More Xmas and 7 months

2012-01-24T19:42:00.000-08:00

I can't believe that Christmas has come and gone already. I swear ever since Rylie was born, time seems to NEVER stand still. I feel like my mind and body are always in constant motion. Anyways back to Christmas business. It is Christmas tradition for our family to spend Christmas Eve with my parents and then we drive to Tucson for Christmas morning. The holidays are much more fun with a little one around. I had so much fun buying her stocking, ornaments, and gifts for baby girl. I seriously can't wait till she actually knows whats going on. Seeing her happy face when she spots the gifts from "Santa" will be priceless. Oh I LOVE being a mommy! We are always super spoiled during the holidays and this year was no exception. :) We got so many amazing gifts and spent quality time with the fam. Hopefully one day we will have a bigger house that will hold both of our families and then we can host a Christmas.

During Christmas baby girl turned 7 months (this post is over due). She basically LOVES to sit up and does it all day every day. She still is NOT a fan of being on her tummy and still can't roll over from her tummy to back. I feel as though she is just like her daddy (stubborn to the tee). She is very content sitting rather than laying which is fine with me. She is not even close to crawling due to her freaking out on her tummy. Sometimes I feel like I'll be carrying her to Kindergarten one day with her binky in haha Oh well, she will learn to crawl and walk when she is good and ready. Baby girl has 4 more teeth coming in on the top, which now makes a grand total of 6 cute teeth. As much as I love seeing her teeth come through it is sooooo sad too. She is always in alot of pain and all of the "teething" stuff never seems to help. So lets just say its always a rough few days until those pearly whites reach the surface. Rylie also got to experience her first airplane ride. I'll be posting more about that trip coming up. This month we also said good bye to our baby bouncer and swing. Little Ry doesn't like them any more and won't stay in either without screaming her heart out. It was sad to see them go because they got us through some tough times the first few months but her new toy is her walker. She LOVES that thing and spends lots of time getting those legs nice and strong. She is starting to pull herself up from the sitting position so I'm pretty sure she will walk before she crawls. This month has also been full of baby talk. Baby girl is talking up a storm. She says "dada" all the time. This makes Aaron sooooo happy! He always wanted her to say dada first and he got his wish. Month seven has been filled with many milestones and exciting times. Can't wait to see what next month has in store for us :) Oh and here is Rylie's first time in a shopping cart like a big girl! As you can see, her WILD hair is growing out and starting to lay down :) Love this little peanut!

12 for 2012

2012-01-20T08:30:00.000-08:00

This year I am setting 12 goals for the upcoming year. These aren't your typical "new years resolutions" but rather life goals I want to continue to work on.

Top 12: (in no particular order)

1. Be more optimistic
2. Be more positive
3. Be the BEST mommy I can be
4. Be the BEST wife I can be
5. Be a better daughter
6. Be a better friend
7. Be a better sister
8. Take more pictures
9. Laugh more
10. Take more walks outside
11. Be more organized
12. Love more

These are all things I currently do but I want to make a effort to do BETTER.

Here's to an even BIGGER and BETTER 2012. :)

Happy (late) New Years!

Santa baby

2011-12-31T09:00:00.000-08:00

Just a sneak peek of our Christmas this year. I'm waiting to get some pictures back from my mom. I'll be posting more about xmas soon!

1/2 a year

2011-11-30T12:33:00.001-08:00

This little lady is 6 months old already!! I seriously can't believe it! I know I say this every month but its so true. It feels like yesterday when I called Aaron and told him my water broke and to come home quick. Our baby is growing up so fast right before our eyes. I feel like she will be in kindergarten next week.Ekkk! I wish I could freeze time and keep her small forever. I absolutely LOVE staying home with her and seeing her little personality grow every day.A big thank you to Aaron for working so hard for our family and allowing me the opportunity to be home with our pumpkin. I LOVE you babe!

She is so alert and aware of her surroundings. She makes me feel so special to be her mommy. She never judges me for my daily pj ataire, non makeup face, and gross pony tail hair. She laughs at all my silly faces and jokes. She stares at me 24/7 and makes me feel like the most beautiful mom in the world. I LOVE this little princess more than I could ever describe. Happy 6 months to our little baby girl. Here are some pics taken by Aarons friend Lane. We LOVE them!

Rylie is:

Starting to sit up like a pro (about a week after this pics were taken)

Has 2 bottom teeth

Eatting oatmeal for breakfast and dinner

Carrots for lunch

Eatting 6 ounces every 3 hours

Sleeping 9-11 hours at night. A.M.A.Z.I.N.G :)

Rolling over like a crazy baby (still hasn't figured out tummy to back yet)

Favorite activity is her jumper00 and going on walks

Her Stats:

16.7 lbs 50%

26 1/2 length 90%

17 1/4 head 90%

I think we are going to have a tall skinny girl, maybe a volleyball player?

Rice Cereal

2011-11-18T14:18:00.000-08:00

Our little pumpkin has been eating rice cereal for about three weeks now. It is one of my favorite parts of the day. She LOVES it so much and I can hardly feed her fast enough. Rylie is starting to get the hang of the spoon and the whole cereal process (although she makes a complete mess with her hands). She gets super excited when she sees the bowl and knows its time for the yummies. We haven't started any veggies or fruits yet but that is next on our list. :) Oh and baby girl has another tooth!!! She is pretty much the cutest thing ever.
*Last night we took her 6 month pics and I CAN'T wait to get them back. I'll be posting those soon! I can't believe we have a 6 month old baby :) Where has the time gone? oh reals!

Phone pics

2011-11-08T12:24:00.000-08:00

Still a little bit too small :) haha

We go on daily walks in this bad boy! (hopefully my walks will turn into jogs then runs)

Again, this is a daily activity that Rylie LOVES!! If only my back wouldn't kill me every time.

Baby girl is starting to sit up. Not the best pic but she was so wobbly it was hard to get a good one.

Our latest Craigslist purchase, which is AMAZING!! Ry LOVES jumping in her jumperoo. Last night she played in it for 40 mins. Like I said, amazing!!

It's starting to cool off and we are LOVING it!! I can't wait to try on all of her cute winter clothes.

Happy Halloween

2011-11-08T12:15:00.000-08:00

This year we kept it low key for Halloween. We went with my sister and brother-inlaw to their churches Halloween party and then passed out candy with my parents at our house. Simple and straight to the point haha I can't wait to dress Rylie up again next year :)

Subbing

2011-11-03T14:05:00.000-07:00

This school year I am staying home with my sweet little Rylie roo. I am absoultely loving every minute of it but at the same time trying to stay connected to school life too so I am subbing on the side. I'm subbing in the same district that I taught in for the past three year so it makes it really nice to be comfortable in the same school too. I love seeing my past Kinder students (my first kinders are now 3rd graders, craziness) and being able to watch them grow up. :) At first I was really scared to start subbing for a few reasons. First, was having to leave Rylie for the whole day. I knew it was going to be really sad leaving her but I feel so much better because she stays with my cousin Sally. Sally is really flexible with my schedule and is an amazing mom to her two kiddos so it's a perfect situation for us. I feel so lucky to have a family member watch Rylie while I work once a week. The second reason I was nervous to start subbing was going into a classroom that's not mine. In the teaching world, I'm a complete control freak and like things done my way so going into someone elses classroom was scary. After I got over my two fears I have actually enjoyed myself. So far, I have subbed in a resource room, 3rd grade and Kinder. I hope to sub in 2nd and 1st too. This will give me the opportunity to test out all of the K-3 grades before I go back to work full time. yikes! It's really hard to think about leaving my little baby all day every day :( ugh I don't even want to think about it. As for now, I'm loving the chance to sub once a week. Also, a quick thank you to Sally for allowing me this opportunity. You are the BEST!!

Mullet/Mohawk

2011-10-29T13:41:00.000-07:00

If you have ever seen the wonderful wild hair of miss Rylie roo then you know it is CRAZY!! No matter what I do to her hair it always looks silly. Aaron pretty much loves it! I think he secretly does something to it when she is sleeping. haha Whenever I'm out and about people always comment on her hair. :) She is such a fun little girl and is developing the cutest personality. All bussiness in the front with a lovely comb-over
and party in the back with an awesome mullet :)
oh and don't forget the mohawk on the top :)

Taylor SWIFT

2011-10-26T18:59:00.001-07:00

Last Friday night Aaron and I got to see TAYLOR SWIFT!!!! I LOVE her!! She was sooooooo amazing in concert and it was fun to just get out for a little date night. My mom was so nice to watch little Ry for us during the concert. Here are the pics she sent me while we were gone (grandma can always make her laugh so much):

(sorry I can't go one post without posting something of Rylie:) haha

First Tooth

2011-10-26T15:28:00.000-07:00

Rylie got her first tooth last Monday! It was kind of a rough week for her. Poor little girl was in a lot of pain and was super fussy. I hate seeing her upset and sad. I have tried lots of teething stuff but none of it really seems to work. We have tried the gel, the tablets, baby Tylenol, teething rings, frozen stuff but all she really likes to chew on is dollys hair. Dolly has been through a lot these last few months. I have to wash her weekly. Rylie is also getting another tooth but it hasn't popped through yet.You can't really see her tooth in the picture above because its still a little guy. :)

On another note, Rylie has been getting her Binky caught in her mouth. I'm not sure how she does this but it is so sad. She screams bloody murder and sometimes its even hard for me to get out. I haven't heard of other babies having this problem so any suggestions would be great. I have switched to a different type of Binky so hopefully this won't happen again. This weekend when her Binky got stuck in her mouth it chiped her tooth so now her first and only tooth is messed up. :( My poor little baby and her tooth, I just love her so much. Hopefully the other teeth will come in a little better. Here is a pic of her new Binky!

Rollie Pollie

2011-10-26T15:19:00.000-07:00

Our little missy is quite the rollie pollie these days. She has mastered rolling to her left side from her back to tummy and is starting to roll over to her right sometimes. It has been about three weeks of crazy rolling but she still hasn't figured out how to roll from her tummy to her back. She actually learned how to do that first but doesn't do it any more. I really wished she would roll both ways because she gets so upset when shes been on her tummy for a little while. This has brought on new problems for sleeping at night. She wants to roll over even when shes sleeping but then can't get back over so she wakes up crying. I have resorted to a sleeping aid thingy. Aaron calls it a straight jacket but I call it her life jacket (since it helps her sleeps). Ever since we started using it she sleeps pretty good through the night. Hopefully little missy will figure out rolling from her tummy to back so we don't have to use the life jacket any more.

Here is her Superman pose while she is blowing/spiting bubbles :)

Rylie's doing her daily push ups :)

2 years and counting

2011-10-03T11:34:00.001-07:00

Two years ago today I married my best friend in the whole world. It was such an amazing day filled with family and friends. Time has gone by so fast and I seriously can't believe it has been 2 wonderful years already. I can remember the way I felt waking up that morning and getting ready for the big day. Getting my hair done and putting on my beautiful dress then waiting to see Aaron for the first time in the grassy area. It feels like yesterday that we were holding hands in front of all of our loved ones and saying "I do".

The past two years have been the best years of my life. Aaron and I have made some amazing memories together. We have gone on so many fun trips, seen some amazing views, traveled many miles, and dipped our toes into two different oceans. We have made our house a home. Bought a family car, gone to sporting events, hung out with some amazing friends, and most of all created our beautiful daughter Rylie. She is the best of both of us. Rylie has truly started our little family in full force and I can't wait to see what life has in store for us three.

Happy anniversary to my amazing, wonderful, loving, and caring husband! Here's to a lifetime filled with happiness and love! I love you with all my heart! xoxo

4 Months

2011-10-03T10:35:00.000-07:00

Our little princess is now 4 months old and getting bigger by the day. Her little personality is really starting to shine through. She is such a happy baby and smiles all the time. We have also discovered that miss Rylie is pretty darn ticklish too. Whenever we tickle her she laughs so much. :) Her laugh is pretty much the cutest thing ever. We also took her to the dr for her 4 month check up and to get those dang shots (not fun). Poor baby cried so hard and it just brought tears to my eyes. I can't stand it to see her in any pain. She was a very brave girl and took a long nap that afternoon.

Her stats this month:

13.12 lbs 50% percentile

25 1/4 inches long 90%

16 1/2 head circ. 90%

What she's been up to:

*Laughing all the time

*Sleeping through the night in her crib from 9:30ish p.m-9:00 a.mish

*Eats 5 ounces every 3-4 hours

*Doing much better with tummy time

*Just started rolling over from her back to tummy last night! :)

*Sleeps on her side (so cute)

*Wants to sit up all the time

*LOVES the jogging stroller (now that the weather is cooling off, I hope to make this apart of our daily routine) She falls asleep about 15 minutes in to our walk/jog

*Still loves baths and her binky, dolly, and rattle

*Sucks on her pointer and middle finger all the time

The pictures from above are from the mini photo shoot that we did with my mom. She loves taking pictures and growing up I hated it but now I LOVE it! It's much more fun being apart of her shoots when I'm not in the pics. :) I'm so glad my mom loves taking pictures and is able to capture all of Rylies cuteness. We love this girl to pieces!!

I've changed

2011-09-21T12:11:00.000-07:00

I found this cute list of "42 things that change when you have a baby" from the website babycenter.com that sends me weekly articles. I have definitely changed since having baby Rylie in my life. She has made me a better person for sure :)

Here were the top 42 changes:
1. You finally stop to smell the roses, because your baby is in your arms.

2. Where you once believed you were fearless, you now find yourself afraid. [See a reader's perspective in #22, below.]

3. The sacrifices you thought you made to have a child no longer seem like sacrifices.

4. You respect your body ... finally.

5. You respect your parents and love them in a new way.

6. You find that your baby's pain feels much worse than your own.

7. You believe once again in the things you believed in as a child.

8. You lose touch with the people in your life whom you should have banished years ago.

9. Your heart breaks much more easily.

10. You think of someone else 234,836,178,976 times a day.

11. Every day is a surprise.

12. Bodily functions are no longer repulsive. In fact, they please you. (Hooray for poop!)

13. You look at your baby in the mirror instead of yourself.

14. You become a morning person.

15. Your love becomes limitless, a superhuman power.

And from our readers...

1. "You discover how much there is to say about one tooth." — Ashley's mom

2. "You finally realize that true joy doesn't come from material wealth." — Anonymous

3. "You now know where the sun comes from." — Charlotte

4. "You'd rather buy a plastic tricycle than those shoes that you've been dying to have." — Sophie's mom

5. "You realize that although sticky, lollipops have magical powers." — Roxanne

6. "You don't mind going to bed at 9 p.m. on Friday night." — Kellye

7. "Silence? What's that?" — Anonymous

8. "You realize that the 15 pounds you can't seem to get rid of are totally worth having." — Brenda

9. "You discover an inner strength you never thought you had." — Ronin and Brookie's mom

10. "You no longer rely on a clock — your baby now sets your schedule." — Thomas' mom

11. "You give parents with a screaming child an 'I-know-the-feeling' look instead of a 'Can't-they-shut-him-up?' one." — Jaidyn's mom

12. "Your dog — who used to be your 'baby' — becomes just a dog." — Kara

[Many readers begged to differ, saying things like, " I disagree with number 12. My dogs are my additional children," "Nothing about previous babies, whether two- or four-legged, changes when a new miracle comes along," "My dog will never be 'just a dog," and "This is sad to me. My dog is still my baby too."]

13. "You take the time for one more hug and kiss even if it means you'll be late." — Tracey

14. "You learn that taking a shower is a luxury." — Jayden's mom

15. "You realize that you can love a complete stranger." — Dezarae's mom

16. You find yourself wanting to make this world a better place. — Arizona

17. If you didn’t believe in love at first sight before, now you do! — Ciara

18. You start to appreciate Sesame Street for its intellectual contribution. — Anon.

19. You have to quit watching the news because you see every story from a mother's perspective and it breaks your heart. — Brooke&Boys

20. You just plain love life more - everything comes together and becomes better because of one tiny person and your love for them. — Anon.

21. You finally find out the real reason you have those breasts. — Anon.

22. In response to #2 [above], I'd say that where you were once afraid, you're now fearless. I was always very timid and shy and let myself get walked all over … but now where my kid's concerned, I'll speak my mind and really connect with my inner "b"! — gummismom

23. The support you get from other people surprises you, because the people giving it are not always the ones you'd expect. — japanese_macaque

24. Nothing is just yours any longer. You share EVERYTHING! — DylanLsMom

25. No matter what you've accomplished in life, you look at your child and think, "I've done a GREAT job!" — Anon.

26. You want to take better care of yourself for your child. — Treasor

27. You can have the most wonderful conversation using only vowel sounds like "ahhh" and "oooo." — littlehulk2008

It's finally time

2011-09-15T10:50:00.000-07:00

Well last night I took the plunge and put Rylie in her crib for the first time. I have been fighting myself every week to be strong enough to put her in her own bed but every time I think I'm going to do it, I get too scared and back down. I just love waking up in the middle of the night and seeing her sleep so peacefully. It is also nice to be an arms length away for binky patrol. I don't even know why I finally decided last night would be "crib night" but I did it!!! I was seriously so proud of myself. I thought that I wasn't going to be able to sleep at all but surprising enough I slept pretty good. I did get up a few times to go check on her. :) If you can see in the dark not clear pictures (I took the pics with no flash so she wouldn't wake up), she is sucking on her fingers. She looks so adorable! Rylie also slept from 10:30 p.m. to 9 a.m. It was pretty much amazing and a great success!! I hope she will continue to sleep good in her new bed. Sweet dreams little love bug! xoxo

P.S. I know I have the bumpers on the wrong side of the rails. I'm waiting to put them on the inside till she is a little bit older. I've heard so many bad stories and the internet is making me a worry wart. ugh...I hate the internet sometimes.

Green and Yellow

2011-09-15T10:20:00.001-07:00

It's that time of year again where you can find our house tuned into every football game imaginable, especially PACKER games. Our weekends are filled with watching college and pro football games. For most women this sounds like torture but I actually love football season. Aaron is pretty much obsessed with the Packers so instead of fighting it, I have joined in the madness. It's much more fun to have a great team to cheer for and players I actually know to watch. Over the past few years Aaron has taught me so much about our team and now I LOVE watching the games. This past Thursday was the first game of the season. Our Packers played against the Saints in a very intense game. Aaron was super excited for the season to start especially with the long wait of the lock out. He was also excited for Rylie to wear her Packers jersey and "watch" the game. She was sooooooo cute in her little Rodgers jersey. Playing dress up with Rylie is an added bonus to football season. :) Just another reason why I love football season! Rylie did pretty good with Aarons loud cheering and screaming. She only got scared and cried a few times. Poor little girl didn't even see it coming. Overall the Packers started off the season with a down to the wire win!!! We can't wait for all the crazy football games! Go Pack go!!

All Smiles

2011-09-06T09:02:00.000-07:00

Here are some videos of what Rylie has been up to lately. She rolled over for the first time last night. It was pretty much the funniest/cutest thing ever. Her big ole head made it easy for her to tip right over. :) Also, this weekend we went to Tucson and had a great time. While we were down there Aaron's parents watched Rylie for us while we went to the movies. A big thank you to them! Tammy and Gma Lance made Ry laugh so hard and caught it on video. Oh how I LOVE technology (when I know how to use it). Anyways, if these videos don't just put a HUGE smile on your face then you might not be human haha Enjoy!

3 Months Old

2011-08-31T13:22:00.000-07:00

This past weekend Rylie and I stayed with my parents while Aaron was in Denver visiting Nick. Rylie turned 3 months old on Friday so of coarse we had to do a mini photo shoot. :) My mom is pretty much a professional photographer (she LOVES taking pictures) and now she has two new models as her subjects. It is so much fun dressing Ry up in cute outfits and taking pictures of her. On Friday we also babysat Noah for a little bit while Ash and Derek went to the movies.

Month 3:

She can now hold her head up while we put her in the sitting position.

Rylie is "talking" up a storm. It is pretty much the cutest thing ever!

She SMILES all the time and is making small giggles, which melts my heart.

Tummy time is getting much better.

She has officially found her fingers and is ALWAYS sucking on them.

Eating about 4-5 ozs

Sleeping about 7-10 hours which is AMAZING

We are still battling her neck rash :(

She is starting to bat at objects

Ry is getting bigger and longer by the day. I feel like she has grown so much from the first day. Where did my little newborn baby go? haha

Mr. Mom

2011-08-25T10:04:00.000-07:00

Rylie is one lucky girl to have Aaron as her daddy!! He is such an amazing dad and helps out in every way. Right from the beginning, Aaron jumped into daddy mode faster than I ever imagined. In fact, I think he adjusted better being a new dad than I did with motherhood. I was quite the emotional train wreck after having the c-section so it was super nice to have Aaron as my rock to lean on. I love that he is so involved with Rylie and wants to help out so much. He always talked about wanting a boy to play sports with but now that he has a beautiful little girl, he wouldn't have it any other way. He has even mastered matching her headbands to her outfits (which is a MUST) :) Also, Aaron has daddy duty on Tuesday and Thursday nights so I can go to the gym and lose the rest of my baby weight. Aaron sent this cute picture to me during one of his daddy duty nights. I would just like to give a big thanks to Aaron for being such a wonderful daddy. Awww I just LOVE my hubby and baby!

*disclaimer-don't mind the beer bottle in the background, Aaron was NOT drinking on the job. That was left over from the weekend haha :)

Rocka Bye Baby

2011-07-29T14:10:00.000-07:00

One of my most favorite things to do with Rylie is rock her to sleep at night. There have been many late nights when I sit with my precious baby and just rock her back and forth. I just love watching her little binky fall out of her mouth and see her eyes fluttering as she falls sound asleep. These are the moments that I absolutely live for and can't imagine life without. Sometimes it takes a hour of rocking and singing before she falls asleep but the reward is totally worth it. I really need to brush up on my nursery rhymes because I find myself forgetting the words so I end up making up my own or just humming. Rylie seems to calm down when I sing to her, it's unbelievable the power of music (even though my singing voice isn't the best). I need to remember these wonderful moments when I'm going crazy at 1 a.m. trying to get my fussy baby to fall asleep after trying every trick in the book. When in doubt I usually go back to my trusty rocking and all my hard work eventually pays off. I can't really think of too many things that are more precious than holding a sleeping baby. I LOVE my new job of being a mom :)

Happy 2 Months

2011-07-27T18:22:00.001-07:00

Our baby is already 2 months!! wow time sure does fly! We took her to the doctor for a check up and to get some shots. It was super sad when she got her shots. She cried the loudest scream I've ever heard. It just breaks my heart to see her sad. After about 3o minutes she was back to her happy self. :)

Her stats are:

length= 24 1/4- 95%percentile

head= 16- 90%

weight= 12.8- 75%

New things Rylie is doing:

She found herself in the mirror and LOVES staring at herself

Smiles when we talk to her

holds her left thumb under her pointer finger

Moved up to the 3-6 month clothes

Cooing alot more

Great eye contact and focusing on objects

Starting to hold her head up for longer periods of time

Loves bath time

Things she still doesn't like:

Tummy time, she usually cries until I give in and flip her over (I'm a sucker already)

Holding the binky in by herself

When I put medicine on her neck (she has a darn yeast infection that won't go away)

It is so crazy to me that Rylie is already 2 months old. It seems like yesterday when we were heading to the hospital. I can't wait to see what this month has in store for us :)

Summer Time Fun

2011-07-14T13:17:00.001-07:00

Bff's haha

Knee-boarding?

My hot husband! :)

Say hello to our new favorite thing to do! This summer we (Aaron) are going to the lake alot to ride this bad boy around. Aaron and David are the lucky ducks that get to go once a week. Amanda and I haven't got out there yet because of our little cutie pies. I really don't mind missing the lake trips because I get to hang out with little Rylie. Hopefully I will be able to get out there soon. The boys sure do seem to have alot of fun out there.

Here is Aaron showing off his new waking boarding skills.

Go babe go!!

Oh I CAN'T wait to get out there!! Lake here I come!!

1 month

2011-07-14T11:20:00.000-07:00

Here is our little cutie pie @ 1 month (3 weeks late haha). She is actually 7 weeks today but I'm just catching up on my bad blogging habits.

Things she does:
Makes lots of silly noises when eatting and sleeping.
Sucks her thumb which I LOVE. soooo cute!
Sleeps alot through out the day.
Starting to sleep longer at night. about 4 hours.
Eatting 2-3 ounces every 2-3 hours

Family pic at baby Noah's church blessing.

Cousin Noah and Rylie. They are going to be best friends.

Little things

2011-07-13T14:17:00.000-07:00

So it seems that I'm turning into one of those moms who post all about their kids. Its just so hard not too! Rylie is so dang cute and I LOVE being her mommy! The past few weeks have been so amazing and I want to make sure to cherish all the little moments.

This was Rylie's first time in her crib. It was only for like 20 minutes and Aaron and I stood their and watched her the whole time. I'm kinda dreading the day when Rylie will sleep in her crib all night and not in our room. :( We have been putting her in the crib during the day for short periods of time to get her (or me)use to her bed. I feel like my little baby is already growing up so fast.

Rylie is starting to hold her head up like a big girl. This was one of the longest times she held it up. Yeah she pretty much rocks! Go Ry go!!

Happy 4th of July

2011-07-13T14:03:00.000-07:00

This year we spent the 4th of July weekend up at our family cabin in Pine. We had lots of family there and we had a blast! The boys spent most of their time riding quads and being outside. It was so fun having all three babies together. It's so funny to me the different cries each baby has. I love all of their little personalities they are starting to develop. I wish I had pictures from the weekend but I kinda stink at taking pics. Once I get them from my mom I will post some. We also drove up to Heber to hang out with some of our favorite friends the Halls. Their family has kinda adopted us :) We love family and friend time! Anyways, I was a little sad that we didn't get to go watch a fireworks show because of all the bad fires. Aaron, Rylie and I watched the New York Macy fireworks on TV which was actually pretty cool. Not as great as seeing them in person but for this year it will have to due. Happy 4th of July to everyone and thank you to all of the military people who keep us safe. We live in a truly wonderful and amazing country.

Nap time

2011-07-13T13:53:00.000-07:00

I could watch her sleep all day every day (oh wait, I do) :)She always sleeps with her mouth open or her tongue out. oh I LOVE this girl more than words can explain.

Miss Rylie Marie

2011-06-15T14:06:00.001-07:00

I can’t believe that it’s almost been 3 weeks since our little bundle of joy was born. Here is her birth story: On Wednesday May 25th I rolled out of bed (8:30 am) to get dressed for my trip to school. As I was walking to the restroom I felt my water broke. I wasn’t sure at first because it didn’t happen like in the movies with a huge splash of water. After a few minutes I called Aaron at work to tell him that it was baby time! He was very surprise and I think he thought I was playing a joke on him. Aaron was super excited and left work right away to come pick me up. At this point I wasn’t in any pain so I just started packing everything for the hospital. Aaron got home about 9:30ish and we arrived at the hospital at 10 am. We got all checked in to our room and the nurse checked me to see how far along I was. I was at a 4 and 100% effaced. Things started moving pretty fast after I was put on the pitocin at noon. I started dilating about one centimeter per hour. One of the nurses said that Rylie would probably be born around dinner time. Oh was she WRONG! By 6pm I was dilated to an 8 but then stopped making progress for about five hours. I was told that if I didn’t fully dilate by 12:30 am that I would have to have a c-section, which I did NOT want to have. I had a little emotional break down once I was told the news but then came to terms with the option. Around midnight I was finally dilated to a 10 and was ready to push! I was sooooo excited!! So we all got ready and started pushing but things didn’t look good because Rylie was really big and I was too small. The nurse told us that the best option would be to have a c-section due to Rylie’s size. The choice was made for the c-section and Aaron got dressed up in scrubs (he looked so cute and was making jokes to keep my mind off things). Next, I was wheeled into the operating room and was given more of the epidural. This is where things really went off track because the epidural wasn’t working. I could feel everything and move my legs. Unfortunately I had to be put under and missed Rylie being born but Aaron was able to see everything and stay with our little princess once she was born. After surgery I remember waking up in a recovery room with my mom and dad. I was very out of it and things were very hazy. A few minutes later Aaron walked in holding Rylie and I couldn’t have been happier. It was the most amazing feeling seeing my husband holding our beautiful little girl. Aaron handed her to me and I was finally able to hold and love on her! Rylie being born is the most wonderful experience Aaron and I have gone through together. Rylie was born on Thursday May 26th at 1:55 am. She weighed 8.12 and was 21 ½ inches long. Even though things didn’t go the way we had planned I wouldn’t change a thing. We got the most wonderful, beautiful, amazing and lovable little girl. We feel so lucky and blessed to be her parents.

Triathlon Madness!

2011-04-15T11:19:00.000-07:00

Aaron has been training for the past several months for a big triathlon in May. He is pretty hard core with his training and either runs, swims or bikes every day after work and baseball practice. I’m super proud of his dedication to his new found hobby. He is even getting up early on Saturdays to train which is very impressive because if you know us, we are NOT morning people. Aaron and I could pretty much set a world record for sleeping in but soon those days will be far behind us with little Rylie on the way. As for Aaron and his crazy training, he pretty much has NO body fat anywhere on his body which isn’t the best timing in the world since I look like a beached whale. I know Aaron will be a great support system for me once Rylie is here so I can focus on exercising too.
Anyways, here are some pics of Aaron a few weekends ago in a sprint triathlon which is 400meter swim, 12 mile bike, and 3.1 mile run. Oh and I forgot to mention that when Aaron started training he did not know how to swim properly. He was never on a swim team or anything when he was little so he has been taking lessons and I was sooooo impressed on his swimming ability. He did a GREAT job and has come so far in such a little time. He got 14th out of 50 on the swim portion and placed 2nd in his age group for the overall triathlon. I think he is obsessed with tri’s and plans on doing several more. He actually did his first triathlon the weekend before this one but I couldn’t go so I don’t have pics from that one. Aaron also placed 2nd in his age group! My husband is such a stud muffin!!
Swimming amazing!
Getting out of the pool
On to the bike

Dear Randy,

2011-02-23T19:34:00.000-08:00

Every time we go down to Tucson, my father in law, Randy, is not shy about making it known my blog entries have had very little father in law love. So here’s one just for you Randy…
Some of my favorite things about my father in law are:
-How he always tries to make Aaron look like he could be doing better. He is pretty good at getting on Aaron about his husband duties. I love it!!
-His encouragement to buy coach purses.
-How he always goes grocery shopping for us before we go to Tucson
-His funny jokes that Aaron rarely finds funny. Haha
-His good advice and dashing good looks which he loves to make us all aware of.
-Spending time with him and Tammy on cruises and Vegas trips.
-He always has bottled water fully stocked up.

However, he does have some flaws as well. For example, he roots are UofA, roots against the Packers, thinks ASU is a community college, and seriously considers “Jumanji” as a valid middle name for Rylie. But then again, nobody is perfect, right?
But most of all, my favorite thing about Randy is how he instilled good values and morals within my husband. Aaron is so funny and I know Randy is where he got it from. They really are two peas in a pod. I know Aaron is going to be a great dad just like Randy is to us.

Thank you again Randy for all your support and hopefully, this post clears my blogger debt to you for a year or so!! haha

Your very own picture just for you! Now you can't say that there is a lack of "Randy-ness" in my posts. :)

dang you

2011-02-23T12:00:00.000-08:00

So Aaron decided that it was a good idea to buy 5 BOXES of Girl Scout Cookies and bring them home!!! REALLY? really? NOT a good idea for a pregnant woman!! I seriously have no self control these days when it comes to SWEETS!! No more cookies are allowed in our house! Dang you cookies...you are my down fall

SUPER BOWL CHAMPS!! Green and yellow!!

2011-02-23T11:28:00.000-08:00

Aaron and I went to Vegas for our traditional Super Bowl trip. This was our 3rd year going to Vegas for the fun event. This year was even more exciting and amazing because our Green Bay Packers were playing!! It was so much fun wearing Packer shirts all weekend and random people giving you high-fives as we walked around. The excitement in the air was overwhelming! We watched the big game in a theater style area that sat 600 people. At first I didn't want to watch the game with so many people because I wanted to be able to actually see the game but when we showed up there were tons of huge tv's and great seats! The game was super intense and there were crazy fans every where (including Aaron and I). If you don't know Aaron, he is the biggest Packers fan ever!! He has sucked me into the green and yellow madness and now I LOVE the Packers too! It really is so much more fun having a team to cheer for and players that I know. Anyways, the game was crazy and there were lots of close calls but in the end the PACKERS WON!!! It was such an amazing experience and seeing Aaron jumping for joy was awesome! He was seriously running up and down the rows like a crazy person. I've never seen anything like it! Pure madness! After the game, Aaron bought a signature poster signed by 8 of the best Packers of this year. He says that it is his most prized possession. haha I love my sweet husband! All in all we had a great trip and now have bragging rights for the next year of football! Go Pack go!

26 weeks and counting

2011-02-23T10:44:00.000-08:00

I can’t believe that I’m already 26 weeks pregnant! It’s pretty crazy how fast it has gone by so far. I have a feeling that the next three months won’t be going as fast as I would like. We’re so excited to meet this little lady that I can’t stand it. I’m starting to feel her move around like crazy. Sometimes I feel like she is doing karate in there. After I’ve been standing for a long time then I sit down, she starts kicking me tons. It’s been really neat to see the different patterns of movement and not to mention seeing my belly move. I thought that this work freak me out a little bit but it’s so amazing! I love lying on the couch at night and feeling her dance around. Aaron is now able to feel her move too! I think that’s when he knew that this whole thing was really going to happen.

We have also been working on her room. We got the crib and changing table all put together (which only took us 6 hours haha, not the most fun ever) but it was so worth it. Aaron and I painted the room and I think the room has turned out great so far! I haven’t got anything on the walls yet but all of the big stuff is done. I wanted to get it finished early while I wasn’t as big as a house. Which I feel like my belly (and everything else) is getting to that status sooner than I hoped. Thank you soooo much to Aaron and my parents for buying both the crib and changing table. We wouldn't have been able to get such nice furniture without you guys. We greatly appreciate everything you guys have done for our little family. We love you guys tons!

My kids at school have been super cute with the whole pregnancy so far. Especially the girls! They pretty much can’t keep their hands off my “big” belly. They remind me every day about how big I’m getting. Haha The kids are always asking funny questions which I wish I could remember them all but here are a few: “Mrs. Dunton, when your baby comes out, will she be black or white? And is your baby cold in there?” Oh the joys of teaching kindergarten!
Oh a sad note, I had to say goodbye to my wedding ring this past weekend. My hands are even getting bigger too! I knew that this day would probably happen but I was sad to see it come. So bring on the dirty looks and judgmental people.haha
Here is a picture of me at 26 weeks=6 ½ months.

Yoga pants and big shirts are some of my new favs to wear.

Coach Dunton

2011-02-23T10:39:00.000-08:00

Last week Aaron started coaching a seventh grade baseball team in the Kyrene School District. Coaching has always been a goal for Aaron and he is thrilled to have the chance to coach these kids. He has been so cute looking up baseball drills and trying to soak in all of the knowledge of the sport. The other coach that he is working with seems to know a lot about baseball since he played in the minors. This is such a great opportunity for him to learn and grow into a wonderful coach. It’s pretty funny to hear all of the stories from the practices and all about the boys on the team. The tables have turned in our dinner time stories. Instead of only me talking Aaron’s ear off about my kids now he has his own kid stories to share. Aaron was definitely made to be a coach! Here is a picture of him right after he got home from practice. He’s so cute in his “coach’s gear”. Go jaguars!

Slacking

2011-01-12T11:16:00.000-08:00

Well I've been pretty bad at keeping up with the blog so here is an update over the past few months.

November:

We spent alot of time with our families in either Tucson or up in Pine at my parents cabin and it even snowed one morning. The holidays are one of my favorite times of the year because we get to spend it with our families. For Thanksgiving we went to Tucson and spent morning/lunch down there. We ate so much good food it was amazing! Thanks Tammy for a great lunch! Then we headed back up to Chandler to catch my side of the families Thanksgiving dinner. so delicious like always! All in all it was a great month full of family, food, and friends.

December:

This has to be my all time favorite month of the year. I LOVE Christmas music more than anything and having our house all decked out is the BEST. The weather finally started to cool down so it would feel more like the Christmas season. Over the break we had a family girl trip up to my parents cabin and had tons of fun decorating projects, eating and bundling up by the fire. It was nice to be in really cold weather for a weekend (I don't know how people live in freezing cold though, I'm not a fan). Then later in the month we spent Christmas eve with my parents and going to church, eating my moms traditional soup, opening presents and then driving down to Tucson. We spent Christmas morning with the Duntons! It was so fun seeing baby Colin open all of his presents. The pure joy of Christmas through a childs eyes is simply wonderful. He is such a cute little boy!

After Christmas we took another quick trip up to the cabin with some friends which was tons of fun. My dad went up after us and took some amazing SNOW pictures. It started snowing the same day we left but we just missed it. I wanted to see the snow so bad but it was still nice seeing the snow through pictures. :)

Then after our cabin trip we came back for our doctors appointment where we found out we are having a baby GIRL!!! It was so unbelievable seeing her again! The ultrasound appointments have been my favorite part of the pregnancy so far. I can't really put in words what it is like to see our little girl. She is so cute! I can't wait to meet her in June, which seems like life times away. I sure hope it goes by fast. After our appointment I had to stop by Target to get a few pink things! Oh let the shopping begin! :)

Me @ 18 weeks

That is a soccer leg for sure!!
We love her so much already!!

January so far:

We spent the New Year with our friends and got back into the routine of work. It sure was nice having all that time off but it does feel good getting back to school with my kids. They keep me on my toes and not eating holiday cookies haha. As for Aaron, he is pretty excited to get a job coaching a 7th grade baseball team in the Kyrene district. He has always wanted to coach so he is trying to get some experience under his belt before he graduates. He is also working out alot because he is training for a triathlon. I am so proud of him even though he is getting into the best shape of his life and then I'm just getting BIGGER and BIGGER (a little not fair but it will be so worth it to have beautiful baby Rylie in June) Oh by the way, we decided to name our little cutie Rylie. We aren't too sure on the middle name yet but we'll figure that out soon.

so that's what we have been up to lately. I hope you all had an amazing holiday season and starting the new year off great! 2010 was a great year and I know 2011 will be even better! :)

Bun in the oven

2010-12-02T15:20:00.000-08:00

Yes, that’s right…we are having a BABY!! We are soooooooo excited and can’t wait to meet our little one due June 2nd. Yesterday we went to the doctor for our ultrasound and were able to see/hear our baby for the first time. It was one of the most amazing, unbelievable, fabulous feelings in the whole wide world. The baby was stretching and moving all over the place. The ultrasound lady told us that she thought the baby looked like a girl but couldn’t tell for sure. We go back on Dec 29th to find out for real. Aaron was a little sad when he heard it might be a girl but I know secretly he is so excited for all the pink things. If you haven’t heard the Carrie Underwood song “All American Girl” you need to listen to it because it sums up Aaron to the tee. He is the best husband ever and is going to make an amazing father. He has been extremely supporting and loving through everything, like always! I seriously can’t wait to start shopping and decorating the baby room. I am trying to have some self control and doing pretty good. I have only bought two things so far, kid books of course. Anyways, I am 14 weeks along and feeling really great! I was one of the “lucky” ones during the first trimester because I didn’t get morning sickness at all. It was amazing because I was worried with having to teach kinder kiddies all day long but I lucked out big time.

Today I told my kinder class that I was going to have a baby and their reactions were so cute! First, I read them the story Author’s Baby. Then I told them that I was going to have a baby just like the mommy in the story. I showed them the ultrasound picture and they pretty much freaked out. One boy asked if the baby was naked in my belly since he couldn’t see any clothes in the ultrasound. Haha Of course all of the little girls were thrilled to hear the news. One boy asked me, “Are you going to tell Santa that you’re having a baby? Because if he knows, then he will bring it lots of presents.” This is why I love kinder kids soooooooo darn cute! I did have one boy say “well when you get big and fat the doctor is going to cut you open with a saw and jerk your baby out”. Yikes!! Why and how does this boy know such graphic details about a c-section?? Oh man…Besides the scary comment the kids were super excited and starred at my belly all day.

Well I have to go fix dinner so I will post belly pictures soon!

Here is our cutie pie saying hi!

One year and counting

2010-10-11T10:11:00.000-07:00

Well I can't believe that it has already been a year since we said "I do". This has been the fastest, most fun, exciting and filled with love year of my life. I seriously feel like we just got married last weekend. I can remember that day so clearly and the way I felt seeing Aaron that day. It was the most perfect day that I had always pictured and I feel so lucky to have married my best friend. Aaron knows me better than anyone and that's why we fit together like a puzzle piece. I've always heard that the first year of marriage is the toughest but I feel like that is a total lie. This has been the BEST year of my life and I can't believe how easy it has been.

Some reasons why I LOVE Aaron, he is: sweet, honest, hard working, lovable, honorable, smart, nice to everyone, strong, amazing, always puts me first, his family and he tries his best at anything he does!!

Some things I've learned to LOVE about Aaron: his love(obsession) for sports, his competitive spirit, talking in his sleep, the way he holds his utensils, when he does the dishes, when he squints to watch t.v., and when he presses pause (on the tv remote) to give me his opinion on everything we watch. :)

Some things I LOVE about us: we love each other more than anything in the world, holding hands, snuggling every night, saying "I love you" before we go to bed even when we are mad at each other, playing like little kids, watching movies, going on trips together, family time, solving problems together, our wonderful house, buying big things together, hugging, kissing, and doing anything you can think of together. I've learned that we make a great team and we can do anything we want as long as we do it together.

For our anniversary, Aaron got us tickets to the Carrie Underwood concert!!! I LOVE country music and I LOVE Carrie most of all. She is amazing and it has been so cool watching her journey from American Idol to the big star she is now. Aaron and I went to dinner at Outback (of course), then headed to the concert. I felt like a little kid waiting to get into Disney Land as we waited for the show to start.

The show started with a band called Sons of Sylvia. They were pretty good!

Then Billy Currington performed which was AMAZING!!! He did an awesome job! I think Aaron liked him more than Carrie haha

Then it was FINALLY time for CARRIE!!! OMG!!! I screamed like a tween girl seeing Justin Bieber for the first time!!

Carrie was amazing and she changed outfits like ten times.

I have no idea how she worked it on stage with those HIGH HEELS!! Every outfit was accompanied by the heels. dang!

Oh Carrie you are an AMAZING singer and drop dead gorgeous!!! We had such a fabulous time at the concert and Aaron was such a trooper. Even though he felt out of place in the sea of screaming girls he handled it amazing!! Like I've said before, How did I get so lucky to marry this unbelievable man?

Oh and I had to get one last picture in my Carrie outfit including cowboy boots and all. :)
Being together is PERFECT and I fall more in love with Aaron every day. Happy Anniversary babe! I can't wait to see what the future has in store for us...to many more anniversaries!! I love you with all my heart and more! xoxo

Happy Birthday to us

2010-10-11T09:44:00.000-07:00

This time of year is ALWAYS so busy and it starts off with a tri-birthday: Me, Aaron and Nick. Mine is Sept. 28th, Aaron's is Sept. 30th (yes he is one year younger than me), and one of our besties Nick's on Oct. 4th.

I LOVE birthdays!! Especially ours because we get birthday dinners/lunchs/and parties!! yay!! Aaron and I started off our birthday week with lunch with the Dunton's. Then dinner with the Wise's and finally the tri-birthday party at Nick's house. This has now become a fun tradition for all of us. I wish I had my camera for the party but I forgot so I don't have any pics. I will have to steal some from friends when they post them. Until then these will have to do:

Our birthday cookie from the Dunton's. Lets just say that we ate that sucker for a week...thanks for the extra pounds Randy and Tammy :)

Not the best picture of us during our birthday week but it will have to do.

Aaron got these beautiful flowers for me on my b-day!! I have the best husband ever!! xoxo (don't mind his silly shirt)

Nick and his sweet girlfriend Randi. She got us a cute tri-bday cake for the party but I didn't get a pic. darn.

Anyways thank you to everyone who helped us celebrate our birthday week!! We LOVE you all!! :)

Our new FAVORITE toy

2010-09-27T19:14:00.001-07:00

We just bought a quad and couldn't be more excited!!

P.S.
My parents bought an AMAZING cabin (hence the quad) in Pine and I will soon be posting pictures and details! :)

Lucky duck

2010-09-27T18:23:00.000-07:00

A few weekends ago Aaron and I took a quick trip to Sin City with my favorite inlaws and met up with Brandon. :)

We saw this AMAZING show!!! A must see show, I loved it!!

The story behind this picture: Aaron, Tammy and I were looking for Randy and when we found him he was playing the dollar slots. He had $12 left to spend and on his next pull he HITS THE JACK POT!!!!! $1,875 to be exact!!! Lucky duck! It was seriously the craziest moment ever in Vegas. The slot machine was ringing wildly and people were looking at us. Even though I didn't win, I was sooooooooo EXCITED!! What a rush!! No wonder why people get addicted to gambling haha (We will NEVER live in Vegas)

Then I made Aaron go to the Lion King show (He wanted to watch the UofA football game) which was amazing and awesome to watch. The Lion King was always my favorite Disney movie as a kid. :) Aaron was such a good sport and we even got out in time to see the 4th quarter of the football game. Even though I don't like UofA, it was a great game and they won!

Of course I had to stop by the Coach Outlet mall...I got a really cute purse. I just can't turn down a good deal on a purse.

So you are probably thinking that our family luck couldn't get any better, well it DID!!! Brandon and his friend stayed an extra day and he was ALSO playing the dollar slots when he won the JACKPOT too!!! This time he won $5,000!! Lucky duck #2!!! I have never seen such good luck. I didn't get a pic but how cool is that? Awesomeness!!! Brandon, if your reading this...my birthday is tomorrow!! jk haha :)

Yes, I'm still alive

2010-09-24T16:59:00.000-07:00

This past month has been SUPER DUPER busy and crazy!!! Ever since school started back up I've felt like I've been moving non-stop or in a blur. The beginning of the school year is always the most difficult and stressful. This year has been even more difficult due to the high enrollment of kiddos and only one me. I have 25 Kinder students and sometimes it feels like 45. At the beginning the kids come to school with a low knowledge of school edict. I literally have to start at the basics like teaching the kids how to sit, stand, keep their hands to themselves and the list goes on and on but now I feel like my head is ABOVE water now. I really didn't think this day was going to come in the first quarter. A huge part of my relief is "Mrs. C" who is my assistant!!!! Yes you read that right, ASSISTANT!!!! This was the first week that I received help in the classroom for three hours a day!!! Seriously, I feel like Deb (Mrs.C) is an angel from God. What a difference it makes to have another person helping me manage the class behavior. Deb is such a blessing and helps me out with everything imaginable. Now that I have her help and finally feel like I can ENJOY the kids instead of dealing with all the bad behavior stuff. I can't wait for the second quarter to start because for some reason the "light bulb" turns on for most of the kids and they become very independent. And not to mention, FALL BREAK is in 2 weeks!!! That week off will be very much needed and always comes at the perfect time. All in all...I LOVE teaching and getting through this first quarter of school is such an accomplishment!!! :) I love my students and their funny personalities. I really should write a book about the funny stuff they say. Hilarious!!!

L and A

2010-09-10T22:24:00.000-07:00

{L}

I love cuddling with my husband (I could cuddle 24/7)
I love any type of ice cream
I sing in the car at the top of my lungs
I act like a little kid almost all the time
I don't like driving at all but I am the BEST back-seat driver :)
My favorite thing to wear is baggie t-shirts and jeans
I could take a nap every day
I love to fold laundry but don't like to put it away
I love teaching and couldn't imagine any other job

{A}

He loves golf more than anything (well not me of course)
He is a picky eater like plain Jain to the max
He plays almost every sport you can think of
He loves milk and cereal for every meal
He talks in his sleep almost every night
He should have his own talk show because he can talk your ear off
He doesn't like sand on his feet
He hates bugs more than anything in this world
He ran track in college
He says he doesn't like to cuddle but I KNOW he really does!!!

"Mrs. Dunton, Mrs. Dunton!"

2010-08-17T17:49:00.000-07:00

Well my beautiful and relaxing summer is OVER! Goodbye sun tans, HGTV, and Facebook 24/7 haha. Hello 24+ kids, tying shoes, and waking up early. haha I was starting to get antsy for school to start and get into the hang of things but I forgot how hard the beginning of the year is. WOW most of the kiddos come in clueless and kind of in baby mode. I wish I had a counter to keep track of how many times I hear "Mrs. Dunton, Mrs. Dunton!" or "teacher, teacher!" my best guess would be around 300 times a day. Don't get me wrong, I absolutely LOVE teaching with every once of me. I am just exhausted! The true beauty of kindergarten is the growth from the beginning of the year to the end. It is unbelievable how much these little ones grow in one year.

This year has been sooooooooooo exciting being back at my first school I taught at. I LOVE seeing my kindergartners from my first year and they are now BIG second graders. They are seriously HUGE! I feel like they are two feet taller and much more mature. It is unbelievable how much they have changed in such a short time. I usually see several of them daily, through out the halls and on the playground. It makes me feel so special when their little faces light up when they see me and then run to give me a hug. I was really sad the other day when I saw one of the little girls and she had no clue who I was. :( Hopefully she was just confused by my absence. I did she her the next day and she did wave to me so thats good news!

I have now tackled the first week of school and it was crazy but good to be back (and I didn't cry) haha. I have a good feeling about this class and I know this will be an amazing year filled of growth and great experiences. Each week will only get easier as the students sink into the daily routines and expecations. Also, I have a bunch of cuties this year too! Some are a little too cute for their own good haha. Oh and one of my favorite parts of each school year (besides the meeting the kids) is decorating my room. I will post pictures soon.

The BIG 30th!

2010-08-17T17:39:00.000-07:00

This month my inlaws celebrated their 30th wedding anniversary!! We all threw them a surprise party for the big day. It was fun tricking them into thinking the party was for Grandma's birthday. I am not good at keeping secrets so I can't believe I didn't spill the beans. Once Randy and Tammy got to the party they were shocked to say the least. :) Aaron and I have a friend who knows this guy who makes the best cakes ever!! I felt like the cake should have been on the tv show CakeBoss on TLC. It's pretty crazy all the details of the cake. We had the cake designed into the shape of the cruise ship Randy and Tammy are going on in a few months. They love cruising and have got us hooked too.
(Sorry the pics didn't turn out good)

We hope you guys liked the surprise and thank you for always being a great example for us. We love you guys so much! Here's to 30+ more years! :)

Roosevelt Lakeeeeeeeee!!!

2010-07-29T17:19:00.000-07:00

We went to Roosevelt Lake a few weekends ago and I've been slacking getting up the pics. Aaron and I met up with a bunch of friends to enjoy some fun in the sun! On Friday we headed up to the Lake and went jet skiing and tubing. Some of our friends came up for the day and hung out. We had sooooo much fun and the weather was amazing! It was over cast all day and then towards the end of the day a big storm came through. Thank goodness the guys made it back safe because they got caught out in the water when the storm started. Aaron kept saying it was like the movie Perfect Storm. It was crazy how big the waves were especially for a lake and not the ocean. As for the night time, we stayed with our besties Amanda and David in their toy hauler. We had lots of fun "roughing it" in the woods. haha Aaron and I are not very outdoor sleeping, bug infested, dirty people so three days was plenty for us. We like to think that we are more of cabin people :)

Here are some pics from the FUN weekend:

Oh yeah that's me!! Riding behind a jet ski (not easy at all)
Ash and Derek came out Saturday and got burnt to a crisp like the rest of us.

This last pic pretty much sums up how much fun we had and now Aaron is 100% convinced that we HAVE to get a jet ski. Oh my sweet sweet husband...I guess we'll have to see who wins that battle but it's not looking good for me.

Goodbye old, Hello new!

2010-07-20T14:10:00.000-07:00

Yesterday was a very crazy day for Aaron and I. We sold our old 98 Honda and bought a 2007 Toyota Camry all in the same day. Aaron put up our Honda on Craigslist @ 9 a.m. and then by noon he had about 25 different calls from interested buyers. He sold the car by 1:00 p.m. and then we bought the Camry by 4:30. Wow!! I had no idea that we would be selling and buying yesterday but we are sooooooo excited about our new car! I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE it!! It is so super CUTE!!

Goodbye old Honda...you've been a good car

Hello new Camry...you're so sparkly, pretty, and beautiful!!

We feel so lucky to be able to get a new car!! I can't wait to drive it EVERYWHERE!!

4th of July fun

2010-07-06T15:29:00.000-07:00

For the 4th of July we went up north to Heber with our besties Amanda and David. We stayed at Amanda's parents house (Ron and Melanie) which are always great hosts. They always cook the best food and we end up eating all weekend long...not good for our diets but great at the time. :)

We spent most of the weekend playing volleyball games, watching UFC fights, relaxing and eating, and watching an amazing fireworks show. The weather was beautiful and instead of sweating to death in Gilbert, we watched the fireworks snuggled up in jeans, sweatshirt and a blanket. Couldn't get much better than that!

A few pics from the weekend:

Madden and Kolten before the fireworks

Amanda and her cutie pie Kolten

I hope everyone had a WONDERFUL 4th of July. Thank you to all the men and women who help protect and serve our AMAZING country. We are truly blessed to be Americans!!

This picture is when we watched the last game the U.S. played in during the World Cup. I LOVE soccer and it was fun seeing everyone so pumped up for soccer. It was sad that we didn't win the game but it was sure fun to watch. GO U.S.A!!! (we'll get'em next year)

2 teachers?

2010-06-25T15:07:00.000-07:00

Yep, you saw that right. Aaron is joining the amazing, fun, madness, rewarding path of TEACHING!!! He just switched his degree to Elementary Education and will be finishing his degree in about two years. Even though he will loose about 24ish credits it will be worth it in the end. He has always wanted to either be a police officer (like his dad) or P.E. teacher. Well he has decided to go down the teaching road. I am very excited for him because he will LOVE his job like I do. Teaching is one of the BEST jobs a person could have. Aaron will be a wonderful teacher! I love you so much babe and I'm soooooooooo PROUD of you!

P.S. I CAN'T wait to have summers off TOGETHER!!! yay!! :)

P.S.S. Really that hat? gross.... ASU for LIFE!! Way BETTER school!

Happy Father's Day!

2010-06-25T14:14:00.000-07:00

This Sunday we went to the Wise house for our weekly dinner and to celebrate Father's Day! We had a yummy meal and spent time with family. :)

Dear Daddy Wise,

Thank you for being an amazing father to your wild and girlie girls. I know it must have been difficult being out numbered for years but you always handled it like a champ! Even our dogs were girls! Surrounded in PINK and whining girls you always knew how to LOVE us unconditionally. Thank you for everything you do for us and all of your time spent doing girlie things just to make us happy! You are the BEST dad a girl could ask for! Love you always!

Dear Papa Dunton,

We hope you had a wonderful Father's Day in Tucson and were treated like a King (only for a day, don't get use to it :). I am so excited to have another family to share our lives with. Thank you for welcoming me into your family with open arms. As for you, you had double trouble with two BOYS. You have been a great example to both of them and even better Papa to Colin. As much as Aaron will never admit it, he is just like you! Happy Father's Day! We love you!

Happy Father's Day to all those awesome dads out there!

Happy 1 Year Anniversary Home

2010-06-22T15:06:00.000-07:00

Wow, I can't believe that Aaron and I have been living in our wonderful home for a year now!! This past year has really gone by faster than I could have even imagined. Every time I pull up to our home I fall in love with it all over again. There is something so special about owning a house that we have worked so hard for. I love having a home to put our own personality and style into. Also, HGTV has become a beloved friend over the past year too. I never thought that I would be so excited over appliances. :)

Here is the before picture of our kitchen: (the counter tops use to be PINK laminate but I don't have the before of that)

and AFTER (which I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE)

Before of the bathroom:Plain white walls

After, this picture doesn't do the paint justice but its a tanish/gold color:

Game room before:

Turns into the Work-Out room:

I have had tons of fun decorating and painting our house. I still have the guest room and computer room to paint but that will come in time. Also, I'm so excited for my sister and brother-inlaw to be getting their own home. Oh the joys of owning your own home!! LOVE!! One amazing year and many more to come!!

Caddy for a round

2010-06-17T19:37:00.001-07:00

Well, I guess you couldn't really call what I did a "golf caddy" but more like a golf cart driver instead, which was really fun! I went with Aaron to watch him play a round of golf and it brought back so many memories of my dad. When Ash and I were little we use to go with my dad golfing (I think these were the days when he was on babysitting duty)haha. Anyways, Aaron is getting really good at golf and it was fun to see why he loves the game so much. Golf is such an individual sport and takes SOOOOOOOOOOO much practice. Aaron takes full advantage of practicing regularly. Aaron showed me how to keep score and what some of the golf terms mean. He scored an 82 which came close to beating his personal best of 79. I can't help to think that I'm his lucky charm!! Love you babe and thanks for the fun afternoon (although it was hotter than hot). :0)

Happiest place on Earth

2010-06-16T17:10:00.001-07:00

Aaron and I LOVE Disney Land and California Adventure (we are such little kids, we know) so we took a little trip to Cali last weekend. It was so nice getting out of the AZ heat just the two of us. I think the warmest temp in Cali was about 73 degrees, heavenly and perfect :0) We enjoyed 2 days of jumping between Disney Land and CA Adventure. We were like kids in a candy shop!

Here are some pics from our trip:

I think this picture is sooooo funny because of the little kid in the back ground. We were so happy to go on our first ride of the day and this little kid looks like he hates his life. Cheer up kiddo its DISNEY LAND!!!

My hunk of a husband won me the Dumbo at one of the games, he is so sweet!

Fire works show and "It's a small world" ride.

Going to dinner and if you look closely you can see my NEW purse!!! We stopped at the outlet mall on our way to CA. Sometimes getting something new is just what the doctor ordered. Plus I am cashing in on all of the golf trips that Aaron has been racking up. Anyways, we had a GREAT trip and it went too fast like always. :)

Adventures in Babysitting

2010-06-10T17:27:00.000-07:00

This past week Aaron and I got the chance to babysit our nephew Colin for a few days. We went down to Tucson on Sunday to pick him up and then started our journey back to Gilbert. Colin did really great on the drive up and didn't cry at all. He LOVES Thomas the Train so we watched that movie in the car. We of course had to stop in Casa Grande to get ice cream at Dairy Queen. Oh yeah we are "those" aunt and uncle who feed their nephew ice cream and fries for dinner (haha, he wouldn't eat anything else). :)

Day 1

Colin and I went to our friends house, the Hall's, for some swimming time. At first, Colin was scared to play with the other kids but then he was having so much fun he forgot about me. The Hall's have a great backyard for kids and Colin had a blast on their trampoline and swimming pool. Him and another boy enjoyed spraying water all over the tramp and then jumping. After swimming we went back home for a quick lunch, Chugginton, nap and then Aaron got home to play with us.

Day 2

We slept in a little bit longer and had a lazy morning. We watched LOTS of Chungginton (Colin is obsessed with that show)and then went to the community pool in our neighborhood. Colin had fun playing with his trains in the water. He is such a cute little boy. Then it was time for lunch, more Chugginton, a short nap and then Aaron came home just in time to play a little before we had to take him back to Tucson.

Some of my favorite parts:
-Early in the morning when he was trying to wake up aka cuddle time
-playing in the pool
-watching him sleep was sooooo cute
-bath time
-playing trains
-watching Chugginton
-going to the park

Even though it was a short babysitting trip we had so much fun playing with Colin and doing all of the baby things. This was a little taste of what being a parent will feel like one day. I secretly can't wait!!!

On the way back to Tucson...so cute!

Call back!!

2010-06-10T09:55:00.000-07:00

Yesterday afternoon I received the call from my school district offering me a kindergarten position back at the first school I taught at. I can't tell you how EXCITED I was to hear the news. It is bittersweet because I am so happy to have a stable job at a school I love but also sad to leave Lomas which I have loved this year. I am so grateful for the amazing experiences I had this past school year and I will be sad to leave my new friends. As for going back to Colina, I couldn't be happier. :)

Top five reasons why I'm sooooo EXCITED:

1. I get to teach kindergarten in a great school
2. My classroom is NEW and has a BATHROOM!!!! (this is a big deal when you have 22+ kids having to go potty all day long)
3. I get to see my students from my first year of teaching (they will be 2nd graders now, wow time flies)
4. I LOVE the kinder team and people that work there
5. I get to see my assistant Deb from my first year (she's the best)

Now that I've heard the AWESOME news I will be able to rest easier and enjoy my summer without worrying. Aaron and I leave for California today after he gets off work so what a great way to celebrate my job!! I'll post pics of our trip later! Also, thank you to everyone who voted YES on Prop 100!!

Happy B-Day Sista!!

2010-05-17T16:41:00.000-07:00

A special shout out to my sista!! On Saturday it was Ash's 23rd b-day!! Wow she is getting old!! haha We went to Cheese Cake Factor for a yummy family dinner and then off to see the Robin Hood movie. The movie and food was great and I loved spending time with the family!! It is funny how close Ash and I have grown over the past few years. Ever since I moved out of my parents house, we have become more like best friends. When we were younger we use to fight over everything because we shared everything. From clothes to shoes to you name it, we shared it. This always caused for some intense battles. I even have a scar to prove it. haha Well, Ash is living so close to us now and I'm loving every minute! We get to have fun dinners together and bake muffins randomly and go to the dog park. I will be so sad when her and Derek find a home of their own and move out but right now we will cherish the closeness of being neighbors. I love Ash more than anything and I couldn't be happier to have such a wonderful and amazing sister. Happy Birthday Ash, I love you! xoxo
(sorry the pic is so dark, my phone camera didn't have a flash but I wanted to get this cute pic)

Vote YES on Prop 100

2010-05-10T17:59:00.000-07:00

If you live in AZ and are reading this...PLEASE vote YES for Prop 100. The vote is May 18th and it directly affects teachers and public safety. In the district I work for, they have already RIF 100 teachers(including ME). Which means that we are out of a job for next school year and placed on a recall list. About 90 teachers WILL be called back IF Prop 100 PASSES and if it doesn't pass then only 10 teachers will get their jobs back. Also, if the Prop does not pass, the class sizes will be bumped up about 5 more students per class. Think about 28 kindergartens in 1 class...ugh...not fun! Please help the students and teachers in AZ by voting YES on Prop 100.
Thank you sooooooooooooooo MUCH!!!

Love always,

(Hoping to still be a teacher next year) Lindsey

Mother's Day

2010-05-10T17:07:00.000-07:00

Mother's day is such an important day to take some time to thank all the wonderful Momma's in the world. I have two wonderful mom's in my life now and I just want to say thanks for all the hard work, support, and love you both have given us.

Momma Wise,
Thank you for everything you have taught me over the years. You have taught me to be kind, caring, patient and most of all loving. You have always given me a great example to look towards and guided me to stand on my own two feet. Now that I am married and teaching, I truly understand how much you love me. I find myself turning into you day by day (which I secretly love). I hope one day I'll be as wonderful of a mother as you are. We love you from the bottom of our hearts. xoxo

Momma Dunton,
Thank you for raising such an amazing, hard working, sweet, and wonderful son. Aaron has so many great qualities and they are because of you (and you too Randy). You have taught him to appreciate big and little things, never give up, value family, and love. I feel so blessed to have two moms and two families in my life now. I love becoming apart of the Dunton family and spending lots of time together. Thank you for being a wonderful mom to us. We love you tons! xoxo

Happy Mother's Day to all the wonderful momma's out there! :0)

Bring out the brooms

2010-05-10T16:36:00.000-07:00

As most of you know, the Phx Suns are kicking some booty this play off season. Aaron and I were lucky enough to go to game two of the series. We met up with our bestie Nick and his sweet girlfriend Randi.

Getting some food and drinks before the game.

On the way to the game, I saw this guy and thought his shirt was soooo funny!! oh wow!

Nick and Randi

Cheering our Suns on!

This was part of the half time show! Get'em Suns!!

After a very exciting and fun game the Suns beat the Spurs!! :)

***We also watched the next two games on T.V and the Suns BEAT them again!! That makes for a SWEEP in sports talk. Go Suns Go!!
Bring on the Lakers!!

Baby Colin, Nana and Papa

2010-04-28T20:12:00.000-07:00

This past weekend we drove down to Tucson to hang out with Momma and Papa (the worlds BEST father/mother-in law) Dunton. Every Saturday night Tammy gets to babysit Colin (our nephew). He is pretty much the cutest little boy ever. It has been really fun watching him grow over the two and a half years. Colin is about to turn 3 years old and it just seems like yesterday he was learning to crawl. While we were down there Tammy bought a bike for Colin to play with. Aaron was so cute trying to walk behind Colin on the bike, petal the bike, and steer at the same time. Colin seemed to be having a blast enjoying the wind in his face while Aaron was dripping sweat from doing all the work. haha Aaron is going to make a great dad one day. :)

Colin is super hyper so it took about 6 times for us to get a picture that wasn't blurry. Gotta love this kid!

I told the boys to make a silly face and this is what they did. haha I LOVE this picture, totally funny!

We love spending time in Tucson with the Dunton's and it is such a nice mini vacation. Tucson is just far enough away from home that it feels like a vacation but not long enough that we dread the drive. It seems that every time we make that drive, it gets shorter and shorter. Plus, we are always treated like royalty and fed like kings. Thanks Mom and Dad Dunton(Nana & Papa as Colin would say)for a great mini vacation and all the junk food.

Summer time= Golf season

2010-04-26T16:52:00.000-07:00

This post is dedicated to my wonderful husband and his golf OBSESSION!! A little background on my golf history. Growing up I always watched my dad go to the golf course, hitting range or watch countless hours of golf on TV. Well I never thought that this golf craze would roll over into my married life. I was VERY wrong. Aaron also shares my Dad's love and passion for golf. This means golf will continue to be a big part of our family. Now that it is becoming summer time, Aaron is playing golf several times after work and on the weekends. He loves the challenge of the sport and trying to beat his own personal records.

Also, Derek and Ashley just moved into his brother's house right behind our house so now Aaron has a partner in crime for golfing. They pretty much find any excuse to go play golf together. I'm really excited they are living so close to us for a few months. It's so fun hanging out whenever we want.

Aaron and Derek teeing up.

I wanted to take a swing at this whole golf thing and I believe I missed the ball. haha I think I'll leave the golfing thing up to my hubby :)

Jury duty or laying out?

2010-04-20T15:55:00.000-07:00

A few weeks ago I got my first jury duty notice. To be honest, I was kind of excited about it. I've always been interested in the court process and putting bad guys away. I always thought it would be cool to sit on a jury and listen to a case and then decide whether or not someone was guilty. Everyone always says that you don't want to be picked but deep down I wanted to be. Anyways, yesterday I had to call in to see if they still needed me and I found out that I wasn't needed to serve. Honestly I was a little disappointed but come on, that lasted for about 2.2 seconds and not to mention I got to miss school today too :) I guess my civil duty just wasn't in the cards for me today. haha

On to bigger and better things...instead of serving the City of Phx I decided to LAY OUT. Oh how I LOVE summer time and soaking up the beautiful SUN!!! Today was a PERFECT laying out day. A little over-cast and about 85 degrees with the whole pool to myself. Aaron bought me a book so I took it to the pool with me. Today was just a small glimpse of what the summer is going to hold for me!! Pool season here I come!! (oh and I bought a SUPER cute V.S. swimsuit today online so I can't wait to wear it to the pool, well of course after Aaron and I finish INSANITY)

Here is a late Happy Easter picture! We hung out with the Dunton's in the morning and the Wise's at night. I LOVE having two families to spend time with now. Happy late Easter to everyone, I hope you all had a wonderful weekend!

Love/HATE relationship

2010-04-02T16:45:00.000-07:00

Aaron and I have decided to "get in shape" so we bought this crazy work out program. It seems to be a good workout plan but it sure is INSANE!!! I LOVE the way I feel after we work out but during and before I HATE the videos. Aaron and I took before pictures to compare at the end of the 60 days but they are too scary to post. Hopefully I will post our "after" pictures just in time for pool season! :)
To sum up the video workout:
lots of sweat, pain, crazyness, and INSANITY!!

Dear Insanity,

I HATE you right now but I'm sure I will LOVE you after everything is said and done.

Love,
Tired and sore Lindsey

Go Cubs Go!

2010-03-29T19:30:00.000-07:00

This weekend Aaron and I met up with Nick and his roommate for a Cubbies spring training game. For any of you that might not know, Aaron is a die hard Cubbies fan and now that we are married I have signed into a life long commitment to the Chicago Cubs baseball team (and he is committed to countless hours of HGTV :0)

Three amigos

The boys

I love AZ in March so beautiful outside!

Anyways, we had a blast at the game while soaking up some amazing weather. We sat in the grass seats next to the cutest little boy. He was probably three years old and one of the Cubs players caught a ball and then threw it to the little boy. Well the little cutie decided to throw it back on the field over the fence. It was so funny and cute! His dad was in total shock and was trying to get the ball back but the Cubs player had already ran to the dugout. So then all of us get up and start shouting to the Padres player to get the ball back for him. Finally he got the ball back and never let it down the rest of the game. Oh how I love little kids. They say and do the funniest things.

Here's to a great start to the baseball season! Cubbies this is REALLY our year to win it! Lets break the curse and win us a CHAMPIONSHIP.

Go Cubs Go!

Caribbean Paradise

2010-03-24T18:53:00.000-07:00

This year for spring break we went on a 7 day cruise to the Caribbean and it was AMAZING!! Seven full days of relaxing, soaking up the sun, seeing beautiful sights, going on island tours, playing on beaches, spending time with the Dunton family, cuddling lots with my wonderful husband and of course eating lots of good cruise food (it’s pretty much the name of the game, eat your monies worth) haha. Here are a few pictures to sum up our fabulous trip:

Aaron, me, Brandon and Kelli about to leave Ft. Lauderdale

Good bye Florida hello sunny Caribbean!

Our cute little home for the seven day trip

Formal night! (total Titanic looking area behind us)

Beautiful white sand Orient beach at St. Maarten

Brothers on the fairy boat ride

Sister-inlaws

Mom and Dad Dunton

St. Thomas look out point with fun pics

Gondola ride in St. Thomas

I loved this place!

Beautiful Magens Bay

I was so determined to see an Iguana on our trip and I saw four right before we got on the boat! Yay! I LOVED these little guys so much, weird I know :)

Our last stop, Grand Turk aka Margaretville aka drinks poolside

Getting ready to go to dinner and some shows on the boat

Momma Dunton and Aaron back on the ship

Some things that I didn't get pictures of:
*Movie under the stars-The Blind Side
*Seven full days of gambling and we even won some :0)
*Laying out on the boat
*Jet ski's
*Aaron and Brandon playing tons of basketball games against 13 yr old boys
*Strawberry margaritas, pinacoladas, dinner buffets, late night cookie runs
*BINGO (we didn't win, but I only needed one more number)
*Several comedy shows
*Daily naps...I loved these!
*Constant eating but I actually LOST one pound

Goodbye paradise, hello reality…I CAN’T WAIT for our next cruise!

Rocky hunt

2010-02-21T13:14:00.001-08:00

On Tuesday my husband decided that he really wanted to watch Rocky IV this week. I'm not sure why but once he sets his mind to something he always accomplishes it. So this weekend we went on a Rocky hunt. We went to Blockbuster to rent the movie but came up empty handed. Then we called another BB and they didn't have it either so then we went to Hollywood Video but they had closed. Aaron was starting to lose hope but then we saw Target so we popped inside to hopefully find the famous movie. No luck there too. Our last and final hope was Walmart. We looked high and low for this movie! Then there it was on the bottom row of the last shelf...ROCKY IV!!! Ahhh it was glorious! Aaron's face looked like he just found a million billion dollars. :)

This is one of the many reasons why I love Aaron so much. No matter what we do we have so much fun together. We can be searching for a silly movie for several hours or just laying on the couch enjoying our wonderful home. In short, Happy (late) Valentine's Day and I hope everyone has as much LOVE in their lives as we do.

Count down till Cruising

2010-02-15T16:13:00.000-08:00

26 more days till SPRING BREAK and our awesome CARIBBEAN CRUISE!!! Aaron and I are sooooo excited we can't hardly stand it. The days can't come quick enough till we cast our worries away! We are going with my wonderful inlaws (Randy and Tammy), brother and sister inlaw (Brandon and Kelli). We will be flying out to Florida on Saturday March 13th then boarding the cruise ship on Sunday morning. We will be visiting four different port stops and taking in the beautiful scenery daily.

This will be our new home for one week in March!! I can't wait!!

A special shout out to my father inlaw, Randy, for making Aaron and I addicted to CRUISING!

Viva Las Vegas!

2010-02-15T15:24:00.000-08:00

Last weekend Aaron and I went to Vegas for the Super Bowl with some of our besties (Amanda, David, Lori and Nicky). We drove two cars and had some pretty funny stories on the way. First story, I pull over to get gas and since I have a great husband he decides to pump the gas for me. Well he forgets to start the pump and I didn't think to check before I drive off. We get back on the road to find out that we didn't pump any gas at all. Therefore we have to stop again!! haha Everyone but Aaron thought this was simple hilarious. :) Second funny story, after we get into Vegas and we are checking into our hotel we find out that we are at the wrong hotel. haha Who builds two Marriott hotels within a 1/2 mile of each other? haha Once again, all the girls thought this was funny beyond belief but not Aaron. Oh how I love my sweet husband!! :)After the small bumps in the road we get all situated and are ready to start our adventures out on the town. First we went to dinner at this Mexican place inside Planet Hollywood then saw a show called the Variety show. It was a great show and wow the talent of those people.

Aaron and I at the Variety Show

The girls at dinner

The Wolfpack on the Old Strip

The second night we switched Marriott hotel rooms and this room was awesome! This is the tub inside our room. Wow!

Sunday night was the Super Bowl and we watched the big game in our room with Brandon (Aaron's bro) and some of his friends. Everyone was rooting for the Colts but not Aaron and I. Aaron placed some sports bets on the Saints to win and well we all know how that worked out!! :) Aaron won all of his bets and the Saints won! yay! Brandon was not so lucky. There's always next year! :)

After the game we went out and about. We ended up at Toby Keith's bar which was so much fun! They have live country music, dancing and we even saw this guy there too...

Oh only in Vegas!! Until next year Vegas, adios!

Guilty Pleasure

2010-02-04T20:50:00.001-08:00

I have to say that tonight I was very bored while Aaron was gone playing softball and found myself flipping through the channels when I saw the Hannah Montana Movie was on. As silly as this sounds, I LOVED it and it was such a good movie!! I highly recommend it! Sometimes the little kid in me sparkles through! :)

<3

Snowboarding in Utah

2010-02-04T18:10:00.000-08:00

Last weekend Aaron and I went to Utah with our besties Amanda and David, Chance (haha), and his friend JR. All six of us spent 12 hours in their truck which wasn't as bad as it sounds. We watched movies, talked a lot, and sang!

Once we got to Utah we stayed with Amanda's cousin and hung out with their cute little family. Played many games of intense ping pong games. Just for the record I did beat Aaron once and Amanda kicked David's butt more than a few times :)

The next morning we woke up early to hit the slopes! On our way to the mountains and so EXCITED!

We finally get to The Canyons Resort to start our fun day. I was very excited but a little nervous too since I hadn't been snowboarding in like five years. I thought I was going to be good since I had gone a few times...I was VERY WRONG!! One of my goals was to not give up or cry. Well I didn't give up but I cried for sure. Snowboarding was much more difficult than I remember and well I'm just not good. I want to give a big thanks to Aaron for helping me so much on the mountain. He was so patient with me and kept me positive. If it wasn't for him I would still be stuck on that mountain sitting on my butt. I love you babe!

The second day was much more fun because Aaron and I stayed on the easy slopes were I could practice all my moves haha. This is me NOT falling down!! yay!! :)

We had a great time in Utah with our good friends and this weekend we are going to Vegas for the Super Bowl!!! yay!! We are so lucky to go on so many mini vacations! More pics to come!

Can we say FACE MASK??

2010-01-13T15:39:00.000-08:00

As most of you know Aaron is a die-hard Packers fan so I have married into the green and yellow love. This past Sunday Aaron and I spent four hours screaming and yelling for the Packers with some close friends (Card fans). The game was crazy and filled with lots of scoring from both teams. The Pack was down in the first quarter then worked hard to tie it up and then went back down then tied it up again! It was a wild game that went into over-time! The first team to score wins and the last play of the game came down to this....
That's what we like to call FACE MASK on the DEFENSE!!!! That is a personal foul for 15 yards BACK!!! but there was NO foul called and this led to the Card's catching the ball off Rodgers foot and taking it to the end zone. What a sad way to end the season! Dirty Card's!! but we still LOVE you Pack attack!!!

Mr. and Mrs. Holt

2009-12-28T13:24:00.001-08:00

On Saturday Dec. 19th, 2009 my little sister Ashley was married to Derek in the Mesa Mormon temple. She looked absolutely amazing and beautiful (Derek didn't look too bad himself haha)! I am so happy for her and Derek! They are so happy together and make a great couple! :) Their ring ceremony was held in Mesa after the temple ceremony and was wonderful. It was an outside ceremony at night which was a little cold but perfect. I love seeing how happy they both make each other. Congrats to the newly weds Ash and Derek. I wish you guys the best life has to offer! Someone once told me to "live your life in love". Love, Love, Love it!

Congrats MR. AND MRS. HOLT!

My favorite time of the year (xmas)

2009-12-28T12:34:00.000-08:00

Our first Christmas together as:
Mr. & Mrs. Dunton!

I have been looking forward to Christmas so much this year because we have our very own house to decorate and make our own special traditions. Aaron and I put up xmas lights on the house the weekend after Thanksgiving. It was much more difficult then we thought it would be. When you are younger it is amazing how much you take for granite (all those decorations don't just go up by themselves). We have worked so hard to make our home cozy and Christmasy!
On Thursday we went to church with my parents and then ate a yummy dinner. We opened presents and "santa" gifts (I still believe haha). We had a great xmas with the Wise family and then headed down to Tucson to spend xmas morning with the Dunton family. I love spending time with family! I forgot to take pics when we were in Tucson so oops!

I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas and a soon to be New Year!

Pumpkin carving and Tucson for Halloween

2009-12-28T11:34:00.000-08:00

The Hall's and Nick came over to do some pumpkin carving with us the week before Halloween. We all went to the store and picked out our pumpkins then came back to our house to carve them. It was a lot of fun trying to make the best pumpkin. Of coarse it was a competition due to the amount of guy power at our house (Aaron, David, Nick, Madden, and Kolten). Amanda and I are always out numbered. Well here was the outcome:

We went to Tucson this year for Halloween and was able to take our nephew Colin trick-or-tricking. We had so much fun playing with him and trying to get him in his costume. This was very difficult though, he was NOT liking it and it took three grown adults to get him in his costume (me, Aaron, and Tammy my mother-inlaw). After we finally got his costume on then the next challenge was getting his hat on. We decided to bribe him with candy and it worked for the most part! haha After Colin was finally dressed he seemed to LOVE his Cars outfit so we took him outside to knock on some doors. He did really good for his first year. He is only two years old so we didn't know if he would last very long but he went to like 10 houses. Mission accomplished! Well until next year... Trick or Treat!

Honeymoon-Hawaii

2009-12-28T10:47:00.000-08:00

Aaron and I were lucky enough to go to Hawaii for our honeymoon. We left one week after our wedding and stayed on the beautiful island of O'ahu for 1 week. There were so many fun things we did on our trip. First when we got there we checked in at our hotel and this was the view from our room:

Wow is all i can say! Everyday we woke up to this wonderful view! We saw surfers almost every day riding the waves.

Some of the activities we did while we were there were: Dolphin boat ride, drinks by the pool, hiked Diamond Head, sub ride, went to a little sea world park thing, went to Dole pineapple, ate out every night, soaked up the sun, watched a fireworks show, went to a luau and played traditional Hawaiian games, and on the last day went to USS memorial.

Well there is a quick look into our amazing and fun honeymoon. We had the best time ever and it was very difficult to come back to the real world and work. haha We loved our one week in paradise!! Thank you so much to Aaron's parents for paying for our wonderful trip, we would have not be able to go without their amazing gift to us! :)

The BIG day!

2009-11-25T14:43:00.000-08:00

The past few months have been extremely busy planning our wedding. All of our hard work paid off October 3rd 2009. We had our wedding at the Arizona Golf Resort on the best weekend ever. As many of you know AZ is always hot so I was worried about our wedding since the ceremony was going to be outside but we really lucked out with beautiful weather. The ceremony was amazing and I couldn't have pictured a more perfect day. Aaron and I had the most amazing time with our families and wonderful friends. Thank you to everyone who came to celebrate the start of our new lives together. Also, thank you to my mom who paid close attention to all the small details that really showed off great at the wedding. She really should be a wedding planner! If you are in need of wedding ideas she is wonderful! After our PERFECT wedding we were off to Hawaii for our honeymoon! We are so lucky and blessed!

Some of the family!

How cute are they?

We are officially... Mr.& Mrs. Dunton!

Yes, I have joined the madness

2009-11-11T17:52:00.000-08:00

Welcome to The Dunton blog! I have cracked like an egg and decided to join this so thing called blogging. I'm not too sure how to do all the fancy things on my page yet but I trust my best friend Amanda will show me the ropes. Hope ya'll enjoy! :)