Prescott, AZ

August 19 - 21, 2010 Russell and I took a road trip to Prescott, AZ so Russell could do an ambulance ride-along shift with the agency there. Russell had applied for a job down there and we just wanted to see what the area was like, and if it was somewhere we could make a living. We left Thursday afternoon and drove for what seemed like all day but really it was only 7 hours. On our way, we stopped to see the sites including Lake Mead and the Hoover Dam.

I had been to the Hoover Dam before but only drove across it in my parents car. Russell and I decided we needed to take advantage of our travel time and stop and explore the Dam. It was fun to see this amazing structure and realize how much work went into building it.

I couldn't believe how low Lake Mead was (as you can tell from the large white bathtub ring around the rock walls). There was a lot of construction going on near the Dam because they are building a new road to bypass driving on the Dam. The huge arch bridge behind Russell is part of the new road.

The Dam connects Arizona and Nevada so one side of the Dam is in Arizona and on Arizona time (the picture with me in it) and the other side of the Dam is in Nevada and on Nevada time (the picture with Russell in it).

After exploring the Dam, we continued our journey to Prescott. For my birthday, I got a Droid phone and it is awesome because it has everything including a GPS system that give you turn by turn navigation to your destiny. It was so nice to use this to find our way to Prescott. We arrived at our hotel, at about 8:00 pm and we were so glad to be out of the car. Emily's favorite thing about the hotel room was the fun bouncy beds. She loves jumping on beds.

The next morning, Emily and I dropped Russell off at the Lifeline Ambulance agency for his ride-along then headed back to the hotel for breakfast and relaxation. We stayed at the Hampton Inn and their continental breakfast was great. They had anything you wanted to eat. Emily saw the Froot Loops and she was sold until she saw the yogurt and bananas her favorite foods. Needless to say she loved the breakfast. After breakfast we just chilled and played games then we went swimming in the pool. Emily loved swimming in the pool especially the little kiddy pool where she could touch the bottom. Her favorite part though was just sitting on the side of the pool and kicking and splashing with her feet. She could have stayed there all day but we were turning into prunes so we went back to our room for lunch. While Emily was taking a nap, I searching everything I could find in the Internet about Prescott. When Emily woke up, we went exploring the town. Our first stop was of course Wal-Mart! OK we forgot our stroller at home so I had to by a little umbrella stroller so I wouldn't have to carry Emily when she got tired. Then we went to the mall.

The mall was good and it had a lot of fun stores but the thing that impressed me the most was that the people walking in the mall were not dressed like skanks! When I walk down the mall in St. George, I am sometimes shocked by the way people dress! But here the people were not bad. The one thing that did frustrate me though was that no stores in that mall sold maternity clothes! Oh well. Emily's favorite part of the mall was the playground! She loved climbing on the toys and sliding down the slides and playing with the other kids. She didn't want to leave.

After leaving the mall, we still had an hour before Russell's shift ended so we found a fun park near the station. Emily loves parks and playing. I am worried about what will happen with this new baby because Emily doesn't like other kids playing with her things unless she gives it to them. Emily was swinging in the swing and then she wanted to go down the slide so I got her out of the swing and she ran to the slide. While she was sliding, another kid got in "her" swing and she started freaking out and ran over to the swing yelling "Emily's swing! Emily's swing!" I had to catch her and tell her that it was not her swing and she needed to share. I was so embarrassed but I couldn't help but laugh inside because it was so funny.

After playing and blowing bubbles, we went to pick up Russell from the ambulance station. He said he had a great time on the ride-along. The crew was really nice he said and very willing to help and offer suggestions about the company and the town. Russell was really impressed by their strict protocols and immaculate ambulances. He was also impressed by the crew. He said they didn't have bad mouths or tell bad jokes like other crews he had worked with. He also found out that you say Prescott like "Priscuit" or biscuit with a P. If you don't say it like that, the people of Prescott know you are from out of town!

We drove around the town for a while checking out the sites and looking for a place to eat dinner. We ate at a restaurant called the Fire House or something like that. Then we walked up to the park because they were having a little city party or something. It was fun; we talked to some people about the city and the housing areas and got some good information. Then went back to the hotel and went swimming again before going to bed.

The next day, we drove around the neighborhoods of Prescott Valley and there were some really nice neighborhoods and homes. We decided if we did get a job, we could live here. We thought Prescott was similar in size to Provo and the climate is similar to Cedar City. We actually really liked the city. After exploring the town, we went to the zoo.

Emily loved the birds especially the owls. She would say "Who Who! Who Who!" The spider house was kind of creepy. I felt like spiders were crawling on me until we got out.

Below is a picture of a badger. He was really funny because he was trying so hard to dig a way out of the cage. Too bad for him the cage went pretty far down in the ground so he couldn't escape.

The zoo had chickens and peacocks running around freely. We were trying to get this peacock to open his tail but he wouldn't.

It was pretty hot outside at the zoo so luckily they had a splash pad that we could play in after looking at all the animals.

Emily and Russell loved it. Emily was soaking wet when she was done playing. It was so funny to watch her play.

After the zoo, we decided we better head back home before it got too late. Ironically, the trip home seemed to go a lot faster that the trip out. Emily even too the trip home a lot better. We had a good time in Prescott but we were glad to be home.

On the way home, we entertained Emily by looking for airplanes, listening to primary songs, and singing songs to her. Below is a video of her singing the teeter totter song that Grandma Morwood taught her while camping at Fish Lake. She loves singing.

100th Post = Good News

I didn't even realize this was our 100th blog entry until I logged in today and the dashboard said 99 posts. When I realized that, I knew I had to write something really important and/or exciting so here goes...

If you haven't already found out, I'm pregnant!! with baby Farnsworth #2. Russell and I are really excited for this new addition to our family. The baby's due date is February 27, 2011 (too bad it's not a leap year, that would be awesome!) We have told Emily she is going to be a big sister and have a little brother or sister but she doesn't really seem to care because she probably doesn't know what we are talking about. I keep asking her if I'm going to have a sister or brother and she tells me a brother but if I ask her if I'm going to have a brother or sister she says sister. When I ask her if she wants to be a big sister she just says "OK!"

I knew the truth was always in the pee but I was still a little nervous about telling people until I got the confirmation from the doctor. In March I had a miscarriage and that was probably one of the hardest things I have had to go through so far in my life. Luckily I have a great husband, daughter, family members, and friends that helped me a lot during that time. Even my sister-in-law, Traci, who is on a mission in El Salvador right now, wrote us a wonderful letter about overcoming trials and putting our faith and trust in the Lord that all would be well. Because of this situation, I was very nervous and concerned that I would have another miscarriage with this pregnancy so I did not want to tell anyone right away. On my first doctor appointment at 7 weeks, my doctor knew I was concerned and he wanted to make sure everything was okay too so he did an ultrasound. Sure enough, there was a little baby bean growing in there!! I was so happy to see that and to know everything was okay. Modern technology is a great blessing, at least it was for me that day!

This is Emily and me showing off our bellies. I am 11 weeks along in this picture. While I was pregnant with Emily I didn't take any pictures of my growing belly so I want to be better this time around. I figure if I take a picture each time I go to the doctor I will have one for every month of the pregnancy.

I am 13 weeks along now and so glad to be out of the first trimester! This pregnancy has been so different. With Emily I was hardly sick at all but with this one it was like everyday! I just had no energy, all I did was lay on the couch, if I didn't eat every few hours I became so nauseous and weak I couldn't even stand, I even had to go home from work early a few days because all I did was run to the bathroom every hour. I have heard that every pregnancy is different but this is crazy. I don't know if that means this one is a boy or just an ornery girl!

I have a poll on the sidebar of our blog so let me know if you think we're having a little boy or a little girl. We will find out in about the middle of October.

First Hair Cut...

On August 18, Emily got her first hair cut. She had been needing one for a while now because her hair was always in her eyes and she was constantly swiping it out of her face. She was starting to look like an orphan so I knew it was time for a cut. I called around to a few salons to check on prices and I just couldn't justify paying $10-$15 for a baby hair cut that would only take three snips. Finally, my mom couldn't stand it anymore and said she would cut Emily's hair. This was probably better anyway because I don't think Emily would have been very comfortable with a stranger coming at her with sissors.

Emily did really well during the whole ordeal. She even held pretty still considering she is almost 2. As you can see from the pictures, she wasn't too sure about getting her hair cut she kind of has a nervous look on her face but she was really happy when she was done. She danced around showing off her pretty hair and smiled for the camera too. Her hair is much better looking now and it is out of her face and I think she even looks a little more grown up with her bangs trimmed. Thanks MOM!

Cutest Baby in Washington County!

August 12-15 was the annual Washington County Fair. Russell, Emily, and I had a lot of fun playing at the fair, checking out the entertainment, and the exhibits. Last year we put Emily in the cute baby contest but I wasn't sure if I wanted to put her in it again this year. While we were walking around the fair, we saw my cousin Shawna and she was entering her little girl into the same age group as Emily and she told me I should enter Emily too. I finally decided to enter her about ten minutes before the contest entry was closed. And so began the excitement. Friday was the preliminary judging were the city princesses select six kids from each age group to move on the the final Saturday contest. All Thursday night we were trying to practice all of the things Emily could do to impress the judges like singing songs, doing a little dance, and just being cute. When we got to the Friday judging, however, Emily wouldn't do anything we practised. I should have known because she has a little mind of her own and wants to do her own thing. She did sing her "I'm so glad when Daddy comes home" song with the actions. She also gave the judges high fives and blew kisses and just played with the other girl. Later that day, we got a phone call telling us Emily had made it to the finals on Saturday!

On Saturday, Emily was so excited to be on stage showing off. She waved, did a proud little walk, blew kisses, and jumped. She was so funny to watch because she was so happy. While she was talking to the judges she was jumping, and playing with the other girls. She even grabbed for the little trophy on the table like she knew it was hers.

When the results were announced, Emily won SECOND PLACE! She was so excited she strutted her way back up the the stage to claim her trophy like she always knew it was hers. My cousin's daughter, Brielle, won third place too! Below is a video of Emily accepting her reward.

Isn't she the cutest thing ever!! Emily was so proud of her trophy she carried it around showing it to everyone. She was very protective though, she would only let us look we couldn't touch it or take it from her.

Emily was so happy she won that she had to do a little dance after the contest. Well actually she heard the music playing and anytime she hears music she dances. She was so cute. Get ready to get down and boogie when you watch the above video.

After the contest, we walked around the fair and looked at all of the booths and exhibits. Then Russell's mom, Russell, and I decided to participate in "Dancing Heads." For this exhibit we are put in front of a green screen and then dance to songs. Because of the green screen, our heads are put on little bodies and it is so funny to watch ourselves do crazy dance moves while all we have to do is make funny faces. I was kind of nervous to do something like this because I don't like to be the center of attention, but it turned out to be pretty fun. We also got a DVD of our dancing video and it is hilarious to watch.

Russell and I also put several things into the fair to be judged. As you can see, we got several blue ribbons on our crafts and a few red ribbons. In all we made about $50 in prize money! We were pretty excited.

We had a great time at the Fair this year. We loved watching Emily win second place in the baby contest (which is just as good at first place in my book!), we enjoyed watching our heads dance to crazy music, and we really like receiving free prize money!

Meet the newest Paramedic!!

That's right he finally did it! As of August 12, 2010, Russell is officially a PARAMEDIC!!! It has been a long, stressful, and busy year but he is finally done. Russell took his practical skills test on August 5 and passed only having to retake one or two stations. Then all he had to do was pass his National Registry written exam on August 11. Russell studied really hard all week and felt pretty good about taking the test but the night before his test, he could hardly sleep because of nerves. That next morning he drove to Cedar City to take test praying the whole way for a passing score. On the way home after the test however, he felt pretty low. The test had given him 146 questions when the average is only about 80 to 90 questions, so he was sure that he had failed. The next day, fortunately, we got the great news... HE PASSED!! Russell was pretty excited to say the least, okay he was ecstatic!! He was dancing around and calling everyone he knew to tell them the good news. I was so excited for him too because he had worked so hard for this great accomplishment. Russell is a Paramedic now and can save lives!

Friday, August 13 was Russell's graduation from paramedic school. The ceremony was really nice and honored each of the 13 students, their spouses and even their children. The instructors gave all of the children gold medals because they knew how hard is was to be without their dads or moms for the last year. Emily gave Russell a kiss for being such a great dad. The instructors also gave the spouses roses for putting up with all the students and the program all year. I thought that was pretty cool that they would recognize us at the graduation. They also gave out individual awards for each student based on their actions in the classroom. Some of the awards were pretty funny. Russell's ward was the "Baryshnikov Award." Baryshnikov is a ballet dancer. I guess when Russell was asked a question in class, if he didn't know the answer he 'danced' around the question never giving a straight answer.

Above is Russell receiving his Paramedic diploma or certificate something he has wanted for so long. Because Russell was the class president, he conducted the graduation ceremony and also presented the instructors with gifts from the class. The class got all the instructors massages at Massage Envy and the instructors were so excited to get something to help them relax.

Here we are after the graduation showing off our awards from the ceremony. We are so glad that Russell is finally done with Paramedic school and we have our dad back. Now it is time to start applying everywhere to see if we can get a job. Unfortunately there are no jobs in St. George that pay worth a darn so we will probably be moving soon which I am sad about. Russell has applied in Las Vegas, Provo, Salt Lake, California, and Prescott, AZ so far and we are just waiting to see what happens. I am hoping for Las Vegas or Provo so we can stay close to home but we don't know what will happen yet. Wish us luck!

Fish Lake aka Heaven!

After leaving Yankee Meadow, we travelled up to Fish Lake to spend the week with my family. We camped at Harv's Reservoir on the Gooseberry side of Fish Lake mountain. I love this mountain. It is definitely heaven on earth! Russell had to go back home to go to school and work during the week so Emily and I were on our own. We had a lot of fun but we definitely missed our dad.

The first night we roasted marshmallows. My sisters had found these HUGE marshmallows at Wal-Mart; they were awesome! As you can see from the above picture, the two littler mallows are actually the regular large mallows you normally get and the HUGE mallows are like 4 times as big! Then when the huge mallows were roasted they puffed up even more. One huge mallow could make one HUGE S'more or 3 or 4 regular S'mores! My nephew, Jacob, ate two of them and was so sick he had to puke! I just made Emily a regular S'more and she loved it.

Before he left, I had Russell put up Emily's swing. She had a good time swinging in it and being pushed by all of the cousins. She especially loved it when her favorite cousin, Tyrel, pushed her in the swing but she wasn't so sure about letting him swing in her swing. She finally did let him though.

The weather was pretty bad the whole week because it rained pretty much the whole time. It was okay though because we just stayed in our trailers and played cards. One day it looked like it would be a pretty nice day so we headed out to go fishing at Mill Meadow. Because my mom and I didn't have a car, we borrowed my sisters Jeep. If any of you know Fish Lake, it can be sunny one moment and down pouring rain the next and that is exactly what happened to us in the Jeep! The Jeep only had a soft top on it so we were basically just out in the rain with no shelter! My mom and I threw Emily and Taylor in the truck with my sister and took Justin and Drew with us. As you can see from the picture above, Becca, Drew, and Justin were getting soaked riding in the back of the Jeep with barely any roof. We tried to drive as fast as we could to get out of the rain but there was no escaping the down pour. It finally stopped raining about an hour after we got to Mill Meadow and it was a nice day after that...until we broke down...

On our way back to camp, we were stopped near Gate's Lake by the construction workers because we needed to wait to a pilot car. While we were waiting, we turned off the Jeep because it was almost out of gas. Finally the pilot car arrived and we followed it down the road construction. About a half mile from our camp, the Jeep started losing power and then it just died right in the middle of the road construction. While the pilot car driver took my mom to camp to get some gas, Emily and I were stranded in the Jeep getting glares and looks from all of the construction workers driving by. Below you can see the huge truck driving passed Emily and me. Finally we got some gas and were able to escape the construction zone.

This week at the Fish Lake Lodge the Square Dancers were there. We drove to the Lodge a couple times that week the get hot chocolate and watch the Square Dancers. They were good dancers but their outfits were pretty outrageous!

In all the camping trip was a lot of fun despite the rain. I had a good time with my family and Emily loved playing with her cousins in the dirt. We were glad to see Russell when he came back up to get us. I love camping and being with family!