C & S

Christmas time

2012-01-03T11:10:00.000-08:00

We made a bold choice this year to stay here, in our little home for the holidays. Yes, there were days that we got bored and hoped that we did the right thing but in the end we were glad we did. We loved staying in our pj's lots of the days and taking naps when baby did. I love being a student's wife because we get such long breaks for holidays and such. I'm not looking forward to the day when hubs only gets a few days off for Christmas.

Over the break we decided to take loads of pictures with the iphone. Apple is genius... They aren't as high quality as my camera but when you go out ice skating or to the zoo, sometimes it's easier to only juggle one "baby."

We started our break with visiting Santa at a ward Christmas Party. He so politely told me to sit on his knee... okie-dokie... haha

We then got to go ice skating then watched the new imaxx movie at the zoo. It was pretty spectacular. I love the Grand Canyon!

Followed, by a Creighton basketball game. It was pretty superb. Even if our seats were basically on a cliff...

We really did have a wonderful Christmas and hope all of you did as well. We LOVE this time of year.

1 whole year

2011-11-02T08:14:00.000-07:00

Guess who had a birthday yesterday! Wow, has it really already been a year? We had such a blast spoiling this little one yesterday. Today she is loving playing with all her new toys she got and the wrapping paper... We got to skype with hubs parents and it was so good! I'm so glad we have technology like this so we can have them "here" with us. Good ol' Sandy got to come over too, Lain loves that lady. Oh kiddo, thanks for such a wonderful first year with you. I can't believe you used to be 6 lbs 3 oz in my arms. We can't wait to see the little lady that you will become.

Halloween!!! My mom got lain this lady bug outfit last year right after she was born. So, we finally got to use it. We had fun dressing up Star Wars style.

3 cute little lady bugs. We didn't plan this but it was so cute to see them be the same thing. Our little halloween party with the Idaho Students out here was so fun!!

Church Sites

2011-10-26T07:46:00.000-07:00

Over the fall break from School, we made a quick overnight trip to Kansas City. The drive was beautiful and the weather was AWESOME. We started it off with me leaving the map of the LDS church sites on our desk at home so when we saw a "welcome center" as soon as we crossed the state line I ran in to get some maps.

"Can we help you?"

"Uh, yeah my husband and I drove down here to see Adam-ondi-ahman, and I was wondering if you had a map in here so we can find it."

"Adam-ondi-ahman?"

"Yeah, it's suppose to be out in the country, middle of no where."

Finally, after this lady gave me several (wow, this lady's lunny) looks, a man said oh yeah, the mormon history site?

"Yeah, yeah." I said. Doesn't everyone know about that I said to myself. HA! For sure not in Idaho anymore.

They were super nice about it then told me about all the other sites I might want to see. Living out here has been such a great experience and opportunity for me to grow. There are so many good people of other faiths that I have been able to meet and get to know. Including, my neighbor, who is convinced the little one will be calling her "gra-ma Sandy" by the time we leave. Oh, she makes me laugh!

Anyway, so after I got my map I went back out to the car, was greeted by hubby, who smiled when I told him the story, then said, "yeah, I thought you might ask them where Adam-ondi-ahman was." Yeah, pretty much. SO we continued our drive through tiny little towns to find Adam-ondi-ahman, the site for Hauns mill (where several mormons were massacred) then down to the Far West temple site, and then down to Liberty Jail.

We spent the night and went swimming with the little bumpkin in this cute pool inside the hotel. The next morning we got up and went to see the Kansas City temple that is being built right now, then over to the RLDS Temple and then the LDS Visitor center.

I love how I feel when I visit these old church sites. There is something so powerful about them. I love the "at home" feeling I get when I go to any LDS church site.

At the LDS Visitors center, that is right by the RLDS Church Headquarters, we were able to watch a new movie the church just came out with about eternal families. At the end the Sister Missionary asked us what we thought about the movie. Hubby and I just looked at each other and we both had teary eyes. It's those kind of experiences that help me know that this church is true. I'm so grateful for these next few years that I have an opportunity to share it with others.

Adam-ondi-ahman

This cute little old man riding his bike down main street. I took this picture through the window cause I thought he was just to cute. I'm kicking myself for not asking him for a close up. Those overalls are too cute, don't you think?

Far West Temple site. There are four cornerstones that were laid back when the church was first restored.

A cool dental office

Liberty jail

Babes, so tired after being such a good girl ALL day.

training for the Olympics

Kansas City LDS Temple

Rlds Temple

inside

Inside the RLDS temple

Arthur Bryants famous b-b-q. Sarah Palin and lots of other famous people have eaten here. I would have to say it's definitely on my top ten.

bike rides, picnics, and 1st b-day cake training

2011-10-24T09:14:00.000-07:00

OH fall... you have seriously been be-a-utiful this year haven't you? We have loved to get outside in your perfect weather and take the babes on bike rides down the bike path and over to the little lake by our house. I have a feeling spring can't come fast enough but we will welcome the snow for at least the first few weeks that we have it. Bring it on Iowa... Lets see how your winter compares to Rexburg.

We are getting this lady ready for her first meet. That is, her meet the 1st b-day cake meet, that is next week. SHEESH! Quit growing lady! We are such proud parents...

Learning to walk

2011-10-09T18:10:00.000-07:00

The Little One is growing up and is always walking around the furniture and climbing the stairs. I think she loves the independence of being able to go upstairs if she feels like downstairs is too boring. haha Now we're just working on building up that confidence so she will walk without holding on to everything. She's got the strength just need to practice the balance a little bit. She's learning to like it a lot more I think. So fun to watch them learn and grow!

mid day love notes

2011-09-19T12:06:00.000-07:00

Just received this little lovely in my inbox. Love getting surprise email love notes. Thanks, babe can't wait to see you when you get home!

People that jump out of planes

2011-09-13T08:01:00.000-07:00

We are enjoying our home away from home too much. Hubs and I have been using every spare minute we have to discover or attend every activity we can in the Omaha area while we are here for just a short 3 years. Now we are almost down to only 2 1/2 more years! We really have loved it here so much already. A few weeks ago one of our outings was at the air force base in Omaha. It was amazing... We got to go inside HUGE planes that they haul all of their cool army stuff in. It was a humbling experience to see several men in uniform and how much respect they showed to our country. I don't know if I realize how lucky I am to have a little place of my own to call home or how fortunate I am to live in this great country and have the opportunities and experiences I do. Our country is seriously amazing.

God bless America

City beautiful

2011-08-18T10:48:00.000-07:00

This guy started school on Tuesday and this little girl is missing him something fierce. Hubs for sure has a soft spot in his heart for this little one and she is noticing that he isn't around all day. Sorry, littlefoot, I wish he was home all day too. :)

We just finished a wonderful vacation with the inlaws at a place that is really special to my heart. NAUVOO!!!

I have to say that when I was about 15 years old this is where my testimony got it's start. I love visiting this holy place and learning about the history of our church. I feel like I can learn so much from these early church members.

We got to stay in a cabin with the whole clan. Yep, it was pretty much a really nice cabin but one room. Needless to say, sorry everyone for a little baby that was out of her "zone" and cried throughout the night. Making memories everyone, making memories...

(notice the "black" knees in this picture. She is crawling all over the place! Love it!

I will let this collage of pictures tell the story. This is baby's only cousin on her dad's side. Good times...

tornado?

2011-06-23T16:08:00.000-07:00

Colt and I were sitting on the couch Monday night when we heard the tornado sirens go off. We could hear the wind inside and when we went outside we saw the cloud, in the second picture, above our heads working its way over the blue sky. Freaky. Then we looked up and could see that big black cloud "swirling" above our heads. I ran upstairs and grabbed Lain out of her crib and brought her back down stairs. It was kinda scary! These pictures were sent in to the local news station from people. I was too scared to set foot outside the door. Apparently, there was only wind damage in Omaha and no tornados touched down. Central Nebraska wasn't so lucky and had at least one touch down from the same storm that later came our way. But not to worry, we learned a few days later that this was nothing out of the ordinary. What the?

This is the stadium we were just at last week. Apparently, they had to evacuate everyone that was at the game on Monday into a building near by.

hot, sweaty, humid baseball game day

2011-06-22T13:08:00.000-07:00

Colt and I got to go on a date! I can't believe how much harder it is to do such a thing since baby came but thanks to our friends we got to. The college world series baseball games are here in Omaha so we thought we would go just to say we did. I really don't know the first thing about baseball and even remembered the "sick" feeling I got when I was in elementary and it was my turn at bat in P.E. Just as the boys would say, "ok, folks scoot on up, this one's not going to far." Haha wow if that can hurt a little eight yr old girls self esteem I don't know what else will. I will say this game did out do my expectations and definitely was a step up from the Idaho Falls Chuckars baseball game we went to when we lived in Rexburg and I got to go with my bestie. I think my favorite part was the overall atmosphere for the game. It seemed like a fun activity to take your whole family to. I would definitely recommend trying at least one in your life if you haven't been. O but don't try to take any treats in. Apparently, our families are the only people who sneak treats into the movie theater. We thought we could do the same here and got our 5 lb bag of swedish fish, charleston chews, mike & ike, powerade and water taken away. awesome. I guess they want you to buy their $8 hot dog instead. At least they didn't see my strawberries I hid in a tupperware. fewwww.

Henry Doorly Zoo

2011-06-17T08:08:00.000-07:00

Amazing. Colt and I decided to get a season pass to the zoo and i'm so excited about it. We have been twice so far, it is incredible and so big!

Lunch break... This face cracks me up, I love my baby Lain

We decided this gorilla was our favorite. If we have a boy someday maybe we will name it Kijito.

These snakes amaze me just how big they are! Craziness!

This was my absolute favorite. You walk through a tunnel where there is glass all around you and you can view the "inside of the ocean" basically. It's amazing. I love Lain's look of "wonder" in this one.

Notice: Colt's healing broken nose. Poor guy went to the third day of school with 2 black eyes and a swollen upper face. Let's just say he resembled an avatar with 2 black eyes. oh my. I told him he needed to come up with a sweet story to tell everyone but I think everyone started questioning what his wife did to him instead. haha It actually happened in a basketball game from someone's elbow. I think there is a reason I have never been a fan of that game. It's healing nicely though and we are glad that his nose isn't too crooked. I think he was more sad about the tiny chip off one of his teeth. oh boy.

Downtown Omaha

2011-06-08T10:33:00.000-07:00

We really have enjoyed Omaha so much! The little bump-kin is growing up so fast and it's so fun to put her in the stroller and GO! I love the summer and how easy it is now instead of having to bundle her up! We went to "Taste of Omaha" last weekend and had a blast! They had all the local restaurants there and you could sample their food if you wanted. Then a live band on one side of the river and tons of people on the other side.

Omaha has it's own little culture to it and I can't wait to experience it all!

Aren't these rolls so delicious!

I didn't notice these two policemen in Colt's glasses till I saw it on the computer. Creeepy...

This is where the baseball world series will be this summer.

Just the start of the flooding of the river that may just flood our downstairs with 6 ft next week. not cool... watch the news and say some prayers folks.

Omaha Trip part 1

2011-06-06T10:28:00.000-07:00

Wow, this was quite the adventure! We started our trip off with breaking down 20 miles outside Pocatello. :) I didn't know whether to laugh or cry. Head on over and watch this video by Elder Holland from my church, pretty much sums up my thoughts. The check engine light came on so we pulled over and after checking the fluids the car wouldn't start again. awesome, I thought. After three or four times of turning the key over I told Colt to go back to Pocatello, but i've learned to trust my husband and he wanted to try to make it to Utah. :) So we took a detour up through Logan to see his uncle the mechanic in the family. It wasn't all bad. We got to stop in and see the grandparents before we left, which was great! After a couple days of delays. Colt ended up fixing our car with a $30 sensor. I love cheap fixes that turn the check engine light off. While in Utah we got to go to my brother-in-laws graduation from medical school and my niece and nephew's soccer game and hang out with the family. Tuesday we were on our way to Laramie, Wyoming to stay with my brother that night then on to Nebraska the next day. I heart rode trips! Just me and the hubs talking it up and listening to our favorite tunes and possibly a little more crying coming from the back seat than usual. :)

omaha trip part 2

2011-06-06T10:25:00.000-07:00

We decided we wanted to make as few stops as we could and drive while the little kiddo was asleep. I wanted to document our trip though so I got really good at shooting pictures as we were driving. Whoever said Nebraska was an ugly state was lying. This place is gorgeous... for those of you moving soon, go with ABF trailers. End of story, your move will be so much better.

We saw at least eight of these old windmills in Nebraska. SO country-ish

All of our "stuff" packed into a 10X10 space. My husband is brilliant when it comes to stuff like this.

Hope you had a wonderful easter

2011-04-26T13:58:00.000-07:00

We got to go home to my parents house for easter. While we were there we got to be the photographers at the High School Prom and also have ourselves our own little easter egg hunt. I love going home... My cute little mother always raises her own chickens then gathers the eggs. Isn't she just so homemaker-ish? Well, at this time every year she buys little baby chicks. Didn't she have such a great idea to take ms. lain's easter/6 month pictures with one of these cute, squishy, furry animals? ohhh, I just love them and I just love little Lain. Hope you all had a marvelous easter!

(Isn't her easter dress so cute? Thanks TJ Maxx you are loved...)

We can pretend it's spring up here in Idaho even though it's snowing outside my window at this very moment. grrr

Family wards

2011-04-11T07:57:00.000-07:00

In my church we are divided into "wards" according to where we live. When we move to a new place it is easy to find out what time our church service will start and what church building it will be in by finding it online at LDS.org. Since Colt and I are a still classified as students we have the option to be in a married student ward or a family ward. We always choose the family ward.

Mostly because we love the older generation that we would never mingle if it wasn't for church.

I got to know the sweetest "little old lady" that lives right next door to me through meeting her at church. She has a pretty sweet english accent and I can regularly see her drying her clothes on the clothes line in her backyard when there is just a hint of the weather being warm. One sunday I made too many cookies so I took her a dozen and she returned two days later with an adorable outfit for my lain. A few months later she brought me these carnations for my birthday. What a sweet lady! We have made a habit of sitting by her and her husband at church and she plays with the kiddo and makes her smile during the meeting.

I love getting to know new people and i'm so grateful for this gospel that allows us to have a ward family wherever we go. We are excited to meet new people in Omaha but I have a feeling i'm going to miss my new friend Jean.

Happy Birthday to ME!

2011-04-08T13:28:00.000-07:00

My little sister Brooke is Amazing... She has always had such a big heart and knows just how to make me feel like a million bucks. Go back with me to my senior year of high school. I was so ready to just be gone and start the next chapter in my life. Except for some of my few close friends I made my senior year I was ready to see what was "next." Well, due to Brooke and I staying up late some nights talking about this, she knew all about "me." After track practice on my birthday she drug me over the park to help one of her friends look for an earring she had lost there. You. have. got. to. be. kidding. me. I thought to myself. How in the world were we going to find an earring in a FIELD of grass! As, I was just to end of my rope and i'm sure I had a disgusted look on my face, about 30 people jumped out from behind the steer barns that are used for 4-H. OH my heck! I didn't know what to think! I was in such a bad mood before and here was a surprise birthday party for ME! How could a girl feel so special.
Well, my sister managed to pull the wool over my eyes again this year. Just this last week it has kinda hit me that I am moving away. Far away. I won't be close enough anymore to run home to see my brother play a basketball game or for the ever so famous rodeo in my small town. Most, of all i'm just losing that comfort of being able to see family if I need to. I was starting to get a little bummed and very scared. Well, the day of my birthday Colt texts me and asks if I want to go out to dinner. Heck yes, I thought. I LOVE going to dinner! k, be ready at about 6:00 he says. got it. ; ) Well six comes around and I am starving! Lets go, babe, I say! Just a few more min. he would reply. Well, the doorbell rings and here are 3 of my nieces giving my hugs followed by my sister Brooke, then my mom. What the??? Then five min. later my Sister Cheyanne from Utah walks in. Right about now my eyes start to tear up. How could I be so lucky? Well, Brooke says we are going to go roller blading. Are you kidding me I thought? You have to understand I LIVED to go rollerblading and ice skating when I was younger and Brooke knew it. For one of my birthday's my mom got me a private lesson in Sun Valley with a professional ice skater from Russia. Boy, did I feel special. :) Anyway so we head on over to go roller blading and then the inlaws show up! Wow, could this be happening! Brooke, you are amazing... Thanks for planning such a fun night full of roller blading, pizza, cake, and pop. I love you! (Thank-you husband for keeping it all such a secret!)

Excuse the low quality phone picts

Bro-in-law with my Princess banner my cute niece brought for me to wear. Boy I felt special!

My "Despicable ME" cake!!! (it's a minion) She knows me all too well. haha

To top off the night I got to stand in the middle of the floor and have about 30 little kids who were there come stand around me in a circle and sing happy birthday. classic and hilarious. :)

P.S the in laws got me a quite charming little bird cage I have been eyeing lately. basically in love...

little little one

2011-03-30T08:04:00.000-07:00

This little one is so precious! I forget how small these little "new" people are! Lucky me, while I was doing this photo shoot the mom, who I knew casually in high school, (actually to be precise she was the VERY athletic one that KILLED our v-ball and track teams every year) asked me if I would be able to babysit this little one while she is going to dental hygiene school. Absolutely! I said. OH, the days when little L would just sleep all day like him... So, yesterday was the first day. 9 hours, two days a week. My little one did get a tad jealous while I was holding him. We will have to see how that turns out. For now go check out his newborn shoot over on sweetenphoto.

Do you remember this lady?

2011-03-22T08:33:00.000-07:00

Every Sunday lately we have been going to this website and viewing different videos about members of our church. There are a lot of interesting people and it's fun to learn about their lives and the choices they have made. I feel like I am a person that loves to learn about life through others decisions. When I meet someone new, I want to learn all about them. I guess that's why I love to blog so much. I love learning about people's lives and the trials or decisions that that they have gone through. These videos do the same thing. Anyway, so back to my title. Jane Clayson, the big news reporter when I was a kid. NO idea she was a Mormon. This is one of those videos that makes me want to be a better person and to realize everything that I have and how lucky I am to be able to stay home with little L. (To get to this video you have to scroll through the videos on the right of the screen then find, Jane.) Enjoy...

Springtime is in the air...

2011-03-18T07:55:00.000-07:00

I am really really ready for spring now Mr. rain/sleek/snow. Last week I went out and raked our lawn of last fall's leaves and underneath was the grass. Green, lovely grass just waiting for the sun to come out so it can grow. We also had some of these lovely pussy willows, (I believe is what they are called) on the tree in our front yard. Oh my how I can't wait to take baby lain on a summer night walk.

I liked them so much I decided to bring a little of the spring inside. Kinda in love...

and a little something... I am in love with these pictures from Country Living. If these don't get you in the mood for spring I don't know what will.

(Images from country living)

P.S a lot of people have let me know that their invites to the blog have expired or something. (a lot of them being my family members that don't have blogs) Anyhow, I kinda feel bad they can't look at what we are up to so I think I am not going to have this blog private anymore. Hopefully that's a sigh of relief for all of you that were getting tired of "signing in" every time you wanted to look at it. So to protect my family I am going to try and not use our names on here anymore. Ha, I know you all think I am crazy I just don't want anyone creepy getting any ideas. Have a
great
day!

Bowling skills

2011-03-17T07:32:00.001-07:00

My little sister came up to visit us! She just finished hair school and so we had lots of fun doing "trials" on my hair. After she got done putting some color in it she said, "Thanks for letting me do that, that's the first time i've done it by myself without having a teacher right there." HA! Good thing she did a great job! We also got to go bowling and hang out with all of the bowling teams practicing their skills. Thanks, for a fun couple of days sis!

Hubs even said that when we retire we can join a bowling team and come hang out at the bowling alley like these folks. Thanks babe, I can't wait!!! (kinda excited, actually)

I'm a little rusty on my skills and to be honest it kinda was a workout! lol It's sad but I think this was the first physical activity i've done since the kiddo was born. I may or may not be a little sore today. Don't judge, peeps.

4 month stats

2011-03-16T08:27:00.000-07:00

This little lady is on my mind all of the time. She is starting to get quite the personality and lately has taken up "buzzing" her lips together to produce a LOT of spit. Thank-you uncle Titan for teaching her this trick. It really is quite cute and gets us laughing pretty hard. Dad has discovered she is ticklish on her stomach and will continue to do everything imaginable to get her to laugh her hardest. We got her shots the first of this month.

Here are her stats

Weight: 13.5 lbs 45th percentile

Length: 25 in. 80th percentile

(Colt thinks she is going to take after him and be 6' 2'', o boy)

Head circumference: 15.75 25th percentile

She has come a long way, from my little 6 lbs 3 ounce baby

Time for a nap...

She's Laughin'

2011-03-14T20:39:00.000-07:00

Oh, there is seriously nothing like a babies laugh!!! Have I told you how much I LOVE this kid! This video melts my heart. My only regret is that I wish I would have zoomed out and got her dad in it. His little dances and the faces he was pulling to make her laugh were almost just as cute. Enjoy this cuteness...

I learned my lesson

2011-03-14T07:37:00.000-07:00

I guess my days of eating lunch with her sitting on my lap are over. Unless I want tomato soup all over me again. This girl has some mad reflexes.

I got em!

2011-03-03T16:12:00.000-08:00

Go check out the real spider man over here. I caught him!

Nap time

2011-03-01T08:47:00.001-08:00

I love that she loves the mobile and bumper I made for her. Ah! I just can't get over these chubby cheeks and blue eyes.

2011-02-28T11:01:00.000-08:00

Little Lain is growing right up so fast! Here are just some fun little updates about her.

1- She is learning how to growl

2- She has now successfully rolled from her tummy to her back and from her back to her tummy.

3- She has her 4 month shots next week. oh boy...

4- She is holding her head up like a pro

5-Just this last week she started laughing when you say "boo" to her

6- She loves to be held while you are standing up.

7-She has discovered her hands and feet.

8-Loves loves her bath time

9-Very attentive to sounds and motion around her

10- Getting more and more fat rolls everyday. Which I LOVE!

[4 month pictures coming soon]

my loves

2011-02-10T09:32:00.001-08:00

I think Valentine's day is one of my favorite times of year. I don't think I will ever forget how every year my dad would get us a box of chocolates and a flower (from the high school cheerleaders fund raiser) that they would deliver to my classroom with a little note on it that said,

To: Serene

I love you

Love: Dad

I LOVE my dad and how he always made me feel soooo special. When we got home from school there would always be a big bouquet of roses that he had got for my mom. OH how lucky was I to have such a great dad that cared so much about his family.

My first valentines day with Colt was great. We went to Olive Garden in Idaho Falls and I got my favorite, which Colt knows I get anytime we go anywhere, :) Chicken Alfredo.

This year I have several loves in my life: they are My husband, my sweet baby lain, my parents and siblings, great inlaws, the gospel, my education, goals, my canon camera, the fact that it's starting to get warmer outside, signs of spring, my mac, the good old altima or ultimatum like we like to call it, please get us through at LEAST 3 more years of school, the color grey that I lately have an obsession with, especially when paired with white, my photo blog, holidays, and ...

But most of all... just these two are the ones I care most about.

Happy V-Day!

From lainey's print folder

V-A-L-E-N-T-I-N-E!

2011-02-08T18:57:00.000-08:00

Head on over here.

Senior picts

2011-01-26T11:48:00.000-08:00

Last week I decided that we needed to go home to watch one of my little brother's bball games. Last Friday was the only day that looked good on the calendar with Colt's test schedule and everything so we went for it. I was able to then take Shane's senior pictures on Saturday morning, go check them out HERE!

2011-01-25T08:21:00.000-08:00

Sometimes I wonder why I live in Idaho, getting ready to move to Omaha. They are both soo cold and miserable in the winter. I mean let's face it. The first winter snow is great and fun to see but after that, every other storm makes it seem like the snow is never going away! A couple weeks ago "we" myself and 4 of my sisters, 2 sister-in-laws, and my mom got to spend five days in Arizona! It was perfect 70 degree weather! I LOVED not having to bundle Lainey up in five layers before taking her outside. I didn't want to take my big camera through the airport with me while trying to keep a 10 week old baby happy and juggle myself through security sooo, thanks to some wonderful sister-in-laws I stole some pictures off their blogs. :) Thanks Teann and Tanya!

When we all got their we decided to take some group pictures by Misty's backyard pool! We will have to make another trip down there in the summer when we can use the pool too instead of just the hot tub. (Although, taking a dare with Cheyanne to jump from the hot tub to the freezing cold pool will always be a memory!)

We got to go to the Mesa Temple while one of Misty's good friends watched Lainey.

We met up with some good family friends who are now serving as MIssion Presidents in Arizona.

We took some pictures in front of the temple.

We went to Oregano's for dinner our last night there.

Lainey Lou was SO good the whole time we were there. SO glad for that.

All of us!

We squished in the Explorer

We went to the outlet malls where I got lainey's first pair of skinny jeans!

Aren't they Cute! They are still a little big on her so we have to roll the top down for now, but they are so cute!

Then we went to Mesa Frozen Yogurt! Which is amazing!

hmmmm what will we do for our next outing? I'm voting for Hawaii or Mexico! haha

Vain and Vintage

2011-01-18T08:21:00.000-08:00

I have been following this lovely little blog for quite some time now and this is where I learned about the antique store called Vain and Vintage. I have been there several times since I have moved to Pocatello and finally decided that I needed to take some pictures of this Vintagey little store. So... if any of you are in the Pocatello area any time soon I would suggest stopping by this little place in downtown. There are so many cute little home decor things that are antiques. For the mean time stop by my photo blog to get an idea. Have a SUPER day!

blessing

2011-01-15T13:27:00.000-08:00

Wow, so sorry that it took me so long to post some more pictures. I feel like I am finally getting back to a schedule after Christmas break. We had a great time traveling back and forth between our families to celebrate the holidays. Right after the new year began I went to Arizona for a sister get away for five days. It was so much fun! I'm sure 80% of the time was filled with laughter. I'm so lucky to have such wonderful sisters. I will try and get some pictures up from that soon.

For her blessing I decided to have her wear my blessing dress. My mom put so much work into this dress when she made it for me that I wanted to make sure it got used at least twice. :) The first picture is me when I got blessed. :) There is more pictures over on sweetenphoto if you want to check them out too! Or just click here.

From Blogger Pictures

Christmas card!

2010-12-09T17:37:00.000-08:00

Hey folks, so last year I got in trouble from one of my brothers for not having a Christmas card. Well, I just wanted to share it with all of you guys. As, you can tell we are going cheap this year. I'm planning on just emailing this to all my family members and friends that don't look at the blog haha. Enjoy, and Merry Christmas to everyone! Enjoy, the season and the break, I know we will! (Click on the picture to make it bigger so you can read the text.) :)

baby lain

2010-11-11T12:57:00.000-08:00

This sweet little girl decided to join our family two weeks early. She came Monday November 1st, 2010 at 10:22 a.m and we haven't been able to get enough of her since. Everything about the labor and delivery seemed to go so smooth. I don't think I could have asked for a better birth experience, I feel very blessed. Here is our little baby weighing in at six pounds three ounces 20 inches long. (May I repeat, i'm really glad she was two weeks early) :)

We LOVE you!

(for all those who have seen the movie despicable me, everytime I look at these pictures I have the line, "It's so fluffy!" going through my head. lol hilarious movie, if you haven't seen it yet you should basically watch it.)

Go on over and check out the rest of the pictures on sweeten photo or click here.

We're going private folks!

2010-11-07T17:04:00.000-08:00

Hello everyone! As some of you know we had our baby! She was two weeks early to the day and was just peachy! We love her so much already! Well, I would love to post some pictures but I want to make the blog private before I do so. So this thursday is the big day i'm going private if you want to see the adorable picts of my baby I just took tonight you had better let me know your email address. :) Now, if you will excuse me i'm going to go kiss baby's chubby cheeks! :)

My cute hubby

2010-10-30T10:27:00.000-07:00

Sorry for posting two posts today but I just had to add this one before halloween tomorrow. While I was gone to my shower last week Colt was invited to go to Idaho Falls with his dental school classmates, just the eight of them, and go pick a pumpkin out of a patch then carve it. He asked me what he should carve so I told him a baby. Not thinking he would actually do it. I should have known though that my perfectionist husband WOULD do it though. I just thought this was adorable and it makes me so excited to see Colt with our little girl! I can tell he is getting more and more excited each day. btw I went in to the doctor last tuesday and he said I was dialated to a 3! I was so stinkin excited only to call one of my sisters and have her tell me not to get too excited because she was at a 6 for a week! WHAT! So i'm trying not to get too excited, because with my luck I will probably be a week over or something. lol We will just have to wait and see. :)

baby showers

2010-10-30T10:16:00.000-07:00

I got to have TWO showers and they were both so great! I'm so grateful to have sisters and in-laws that are so amazing! Thanks guys, you have helped me sooo much! Love ya!

The first one was at my house and was given by Colt's sister Keeli and my mom-in-law Candi. We had some amazing homemade soup and lots of little treats then played some games and opened presents. It was so much fun to see some relatives I haven't seen for a while. Keeli made some awesome decorations that we later ended up using at my other shower, cause they were pretty much amazing. I got some way cute clothes, blankets, toys, necessities like bath time stuff, and a jumper! Oh, so excited to use it all! I didn't get a picture of this but Colts grandma, the one grabbing something out of my hand in the picture below, made me receiving blankets with burp clothes to match that she crocheted all the way around. They are way sweet and will definitly be a keep sake!

My second shower was in my hometown at my aunt and uncle's house. It was given by three of my older sisters and my aunt. We started off by everyone at the party taking a super cute strand of ribbon my sister had picked out, and making a little hair bow. SO I ended up coming home with about 20 more cute hair bows to put on our bald baby's head! Yeah!!! We had some amazing appetizers and a delicious drink. It was so fun to see everyone that I knew growing up and to see my sisters. The one in the second picture standing up is Cheyanne. She did a lot of the planning and had the idea for the ribbon flowers. That's her baby i'm holding in the first picture. Thanks sisters, and sister in law Teann, for driving all the way from boise and utah to help put this on. I really appreciated it and love you all so much!

This is my Uncle Vern! Man do I love this guy! We mostly took this picture for Colt because Vern said this is a really old gun and Colt would know what it was. I guess its from the early 1900's and it matches the camo dress that Brooke gave me. Yep, that's right I said camo. Of course Colt knew exactly what kind of gun it was and kept saying that is so cool he has one of those! Then proceeded to say our daughter is going to wear that dress to church every week. uh huh (yeah right) thanks Brooke... :)

2010-10-13T08:18:00.000-07:00

Remember Project number one? It's FINALLY done! It was a lot of fun, but it's nice to be able to start organizing the baby room a little after it has been a "craft and sewing" room the last few weeks. Colt and I are counting down the days and can't believe it's just right around the corner! I'm still feeling really good, luckily. Next week I will start going in for doctors appointments every week! Colt and I are just so excited to finally meet her and see who this little person is who has been doing flips and flops, jabs, and punches in my stomach. :)

From Colt and Serene

This is a blanket my mom made! It is so soft and sweet! So excited!

From Colt and Serene

ON to project 2, flowers for baby's head because most likely she will be bald like every other Bingham grandbaby. Colt is still holding out for hair but it is highly unlikely. lol He did do an awfully good job at modeling them for me though, don't you think...

From Colt and Serene

35 weeks! I can't believe it's almost here! Oh, and there is new stuff on Sweetenphoto if you want to take a gander it's right Here.

From Colt and Serene

We made a date of it...

2010-09-24T10:10:00.000-07:00

Colt and I got to go down to Park City to spend time with a few pals from my side of the family. We have been to this cabin once before and it is seriously so great. I love Park City and how beautiful it is, especially this time of year with the crisp mountain air. We stayed up late talking, ate some awesome food (which is number 1 on a prego woman's mind), and got to go shopping at the park city outlets! This was my first experience shopping for baby clothes and I think I have fallen in love... Soooo many cute girl outfits, then when you find a steal of a deal on them it's even better! I love clearance! I also did a quick mini shoot with my sister and her family so be looking on the photo blog for that.

She is definitely here to stay...

2010-09-16T21:22:00.000-07:00

Baby is here to stay! I know some of you have been asking for these so here it is in all it's glory!

30 weeks was when these were taken, although I feel like i've gained another ten pounds since then haha!

oh well, healthy baby, happy mom, right?

The doctor said everything is looking good up to this point. Every time I go in her heart rate is perfect and everything else looks good. I will admit i'm already starting to get really nervous for that day. I just hope everything goes well and smooth. Only about eight more weeks!

Caution, long post ahead!

2010-09-14T17:29:00.000-07:00

So, I have been meaning to let everyone know what we have done this summer it has been so fun, pictures that I don't have are from Colt's mom's reunion where we got to do a zip line which was awesome, Cherryhill Waterpark in Utah (so fun), and the Bingham reunion where we went to redfish lake (so beautiful). Overall our summer was SO much fun and spending it together was even better! Now we are literally counting down the days till our baby girl gets here!

In June Colt had a Birthday! It was right after we found out it was girl,
I was a little excited, can you tell?

Then a few weeks later we went to the Bar-J Wranglers with
my family!

Then did a cook out up in the mountains with my brother and
his family before they moved to Rexburg.

Colt also got a taste of what it's going to be like to have a
girl. I think he's going to be a great dad! :)

We got to go to yet another Rexburg Parade, hey it's a heck of
a lot better than Carey Parades.

We then decided to hike Bald Mountain in Sun Valley only to turn around
about 1 mile up because Serene was having a hard time catching her breath
being 6 1/2 months prego. lol

and it's a good thing we did because the mountain definetly got the best of us,
as we got marble size hail balls pelted on us all of the way down. NO jackets and shorts
was definetly NOT a good idea.

Colt got another encounter with the farm when my dad needed help with the broken pivot.
Needless to say, I guess there is a pretty good story behind why he is wet clear up to his waist!
My brother couldn't stop laughing while he was telling the story.

Then, we got to hit up horseshoe lake with Colt's family. We were the ONLY people
there and it was SO beautiful and peaceful. We had so much fun in the canoes and fishing.

Then we decided to go to Lava Hot Springs since it's only 30 min from our house, the
day before Colt started school. We were going to go swimming until we saw the enormous amount of people there!
We opted to get ice cream instead and walk around the town. GOOD choice!

My was called "playdough" it was pretty much amazing, and
they scooped it out with a SQUARE scooper. SWEET!

Then we hurried back to let Colt get a good night rest to wake up for his
7:00 class the next morning. (ohhhh he looks so cute on his first day!) lol

That night he said his head felt like this! :)

And this is his first ever tooth carving! He is loving his profession and learning more about
it each day. He always comes home with a smile and loves telling me about what
they did that day and how great the other 7 idaho students are. He has definetly found his niche with combining
artistry and math in these carvings. They have to be PRECISE! He also got a 95% on his first test!
Great job babe, i'm so proud of you!

"Baby's" Room

2010-09-01T12:46:00.000-07:00

Project #1

Bumper for baby's crib

Soon we will have a name picked out so
we can start calling her something other
than "girl" or "baby"

Picking a name is a BIG decision!
I have a hard enough time picking a flavor of ice cream
at the shop. Lemon lime, no raspberry sherbet, no, wait, actually I will take rocky road.
Only this decision lasts a life time, and not just my life time but "baby's lifetime.
We have it narrowed down to about three now, but
if any of you, "better decision makers" have suggestions
pass them our way. We are still open.

P.S I really do actually LOVE Lemon lime sherbet. Actually, that sounds really
good right now, maybe that's what I will get when I go grocery shopping today.

love Serene

He's pretty much amazing!

2010-08-31T13:28:00.000-07:00

Colt=Amazing

This little (tall) guy started Dental School last Tuesday. I'm not going to lie, I cried after he left for his first day at 6:50 in the morning. We have seriously had so much fun over the four week break in between family reunions, hiking, water parks, zip lines, shopping, and playing Yatze. (Which I still have yet to beat him at)

Serene=Content

While Colt has been in school I have made myself busy with getting ready for our bABy! I decided to make a bumper, which i'm deciding more and more was NOT a good idea for my FIRST actual sewing project. Other than that I LOVE being home and having time to do all the little things that I didn't have time to do while I was in school. More pictures to come soon of our break!

They call it love, love, love, love, love...........

2010-06-27T15:19:00.000-07:00

Bring out the bows, ribbons, and dresses!!!! We're going to have GIRL!!! I have been able to feel this little butterfly move around all over the place the last week! It is such a cool feeling! While we were at the ultrasound our little girl yawned for us, and that was so cool to see. Her little mouth just opened for a minute then closed! ah cuuuuuttttteeeeeee! Now for a name...that might take us a while. :) We are half way there though, can you believe it!?! I can't!

my hubby's first father's Day!!!

2010-06-20T13:47:00.000-07:00

He got his own Candy Bar right along side all the other dad's today in Sacrament meeting! That's a BIG step! I seriously can't wait to see Colt with our baby. Last night we were babysitting some friends of our's, 17 month old baby. We read him books and then Colt started to rock him to sleep in the rocking chair. I told Colt I was starving and was going to go downstairs to get something to eat, which is a regular occurance now days. When I had been downstairs for about five or ten min I thought I heard music. I listened a little more closely and come to find out my cute little hubby was up stairs singing the little guy to sleep. Ah presh... Colt is so patient with everything and shows how much he genuinely cares about everyone. I love the way he always asks me how the little "guy" is doing or gets down and "talks" to my stomach, "Hey, how ya doing in there." (I think he thinks its a boy) :) We find out in TWO days! Ahhh i'm so excited! It will just make it that much more real to both of us I think.

First picture...

2010-06-05T16:09:00.001-07:00

First picture to hang on the fridge...

We hung the first picture (of many) of our beautiful baby on our fridge...

We went in for our first appointment thinking we were about 10 weeks along, well after measuring our little squirt, baby was only about 9 weeks.

Well, during this semester I have been taking a pregnancy class and have been doing a lot of reading out of this book. It has been so good and has just made me so much more excited to be a mom!

Our very first baby gift was clear back in December from my Sister as part of our Christmas present. :) She knew that we were baby hungry clear back then. It's hard to believe that it has been over a year that we have been wanting this little one and now we are definitely ready to start our own little family!

Its really funny how all of the things we have gotten so far are pretty much boy colors. We will have to see what we end up having. We really can't even decide which one we would rather have. If I could I would have twins, one of each. :) We are seriously going to be sooooo excited for a girl OR a boy, and can't wait to find out!!!

This is at 15 weeks, the first belly shot of many. I want to try and take pictures every five weeks just for fun. I am now 17 weeks along and we find out what it is just 2 MORE WEEKS!!! The first trimester was crazy and Colt definetly had his work cut out for him trying to figure out what we would help me feel better. Mostly, because I didn't know!! Seriously, nothing sounding good to eat at ALL. I'm sure I have given more than one of my teachers a blank stare this semester as I have either almost dozed off to sleep or tried to do the "mind over matter" trick to stop thinking about running to the nearest bathroom to get rid of my breakfast. lol Now, I am doing a lot better and just need to keep food in my stomach to avoid being sick, which is a lot nicer. During, this whole pregnancy Colt and I have probably listened to Colby Cailat's song "She's got a baby inside" everyday that we drive to school. It's pretty fun... If you haven't heard it yet well yeah... it's good and a very sweet song.

my little sis and me

2010-03-27T14:49:00.000-07:00

Here's to my little sis. To all of the times she has made me laugh till I cried, even for that time we both had to make a run to the bathroom after laughing so hard on our way back from Twin THAT time. To all of the times I made her help me clean our room when we were little. To all of our little adventures on the mountain behind our house, and playing house in the basement with roller skates on. Not to mention all of her creative ideas including how to make a game out of cleaning the kitchen floor with too much water, which got us in a lot of trouble. Thanks for all the laughs little Brookee. I love talking to you even if it's about absoutely nothing important at all.

She is now in Hair school, right here by me! I get to see her at least once a week, and she helps me on my photo projects and I help her on her hair projects. Including this little beauty that she won first place on at her school, and got over $100 worth of hair products! Did I mention she has only been going to school there for two months now and one of the youngest there! She did an amzing job and definetly fit the criteria for a

"crazy, out of the orinary hair do."

I lOvE my mom

2010-03-15T22:14:00.000-07:00

So my mom came to visit Colt and I this last weekend. After she left I got to thinking about how my mom is seriously the most amazing woman I know! I don't think I have ever heard her say one bad thing about anybody in her life, she is the mother of TWELVE children, a spectacular gardener of all sorts of foods (including cucumbers which are my favorite). She is just an amazing person and I love love love it when I get to hang out with her. Thanks for the visit mom, sure love ya!

Happy Valentines Day!! You have to watch this video, it's so cute!

2010-02-11T14:52:00.000-08:00

Hey everyone, this has got to be one of the cutest shows I have ever seen! This is just a little snippet of it but it is darn cute! Check it out: here (you have to click "read more" at the end of this post in order to see the link)
It shows true love and the adventures, both good and the bad, of life. It made me laugh and cry. I always tell Colt we need to travel when we're older or we need to do some other worth while adventure in our life. Where as in all reality the adventures in life are the day to day little moments or kind thoughts and actions we do for one another. I could not be more grateful for Colt and I seriously love him more and more everyday! I can' t wait for the rest of my life to spend everyday with HIM. Love you babe.
Happy Valentines day to all you lovers... enjoy

just an idea

2010-01-24T15:16:00.000-08:00

I had a ton of fun yesterday, taking Brad and Megan's engagement pictures. Go check out one of my favs on sweetenphoto. More to come soon. :) p.s (I love people who are in love)

all is well...

2010-01-16T13:55:00.000-08:00

Hello everyone, I feel like I always look at everyone else's blog whenever I have a min. rather that posting on mine! lol well, Colt and I are doing great. We had a great christmas together and got some great things we will definitely use. My external backup hard drive to store all my photo picts, a george foreman from Colt's parents, clothes from each other, and cash from my parents, and colt's grandparents which definitely comes in great use when we're both college students. :) Mostly over the break I finally had a chance to get my photography stuff going so if you want to you can cruise on over to my blog www.sweetenphoto.blogspot.com. The website is still in construction so I will let you know when that is done. This semester Colt is going to coach a basketball varsity team and he will play on the JV team. He is taking Evolution, psychology, Anatomy, seminary methods, and a basketball class this semester. I am in digital photo, photo history, American lit, and am taking family theories 400 and a parenting class for my marriage and family therapy cluster. We are loving life and love spending it together.

Moving on to the 17th grade

2009-12-01T17:52:00.000-08:00

He Got In! Yes, my Coltley is going to be graduating from the 16th grade in April and will be moving on to the 17th grade this next August! After a VERY stressful day of wondering whether or not we "donated" roughly $4,000 over the last year to an application process, plane tickets, a dental expedition to guatamala and other expenses, Colt got the email today from CREIGHTON SCHOOL OF DENTISTRY inviting him to come to their school! I could not be more proud of him! It's so good to finally be able to stop stressing for a while and start making plans for our future! The first year will be in Pocatello then back to Omaha, Nebraska for the last three years. Here are a few picts of the school in Omaha.

lAugH oUt LoUd

2009-11-10T20:33:00.000-08:00

So as some of you know... :) Colt tried to do some updating on my blog and somehow deleted all of my contacts. I've been trying to find everyone's address but I know I missed some people. If you don't see your blog on here PLEASE let me know so I can add it. Anyway, colt and I have been super busy here, but love it! BYU-I is great and we really are going to miss it when we're gone but are excited for adventures after graduation.
So just a quick run down...
Colt: busy studying for Genetics, biochem, and head and neck anatomy tests ALL the time. (At least one test every weekend) yuck.
Serene: eventually will get her photo blog up and running. enjoying her photo class and the thought of registering for classes ONE more time.
We had a great halloween and are SO excited for Thanksgiving and CHRISTMAS! Pictures to come soon!!

2009-08-05T08:36:00.000-07:00

I swear I have the cutest neices and nephews! last week I went home to see my sister from Arizona who hasn't been to Carey for three years because of different things that came up. She came to my wedding last year, but that was such a busy time I didn't really get to talk to her. It was great to catch up and get to know my sister better!
We made a slip and slide down my parents hill! It was just plastic but I think it worked better than the store bought ones! Add a little dish soap and your in great shape!

This is what you get after you go down the grass at the bottom was a little muddy!

Bethany's engagement's

2009-07-22T11:35:00.000-07:00

This is one of my old room mates little sisters. She was so fun to take engagements for! ONe of these days I will get a separate photography blog, but until then it's fun to post them somewhere. :)

Special olympics

2009-07-05T17:51:00.001-07:00

Colt and I had a wonderful experience last weekend to go to Boise and coach a special olympics basketball team. With Colt applying to dental school we have looked for opportunities to serve and this opportunity was basically placed right in our lap. We couldn't have enjoyed it more and we loved getting to know these children and adults. I heard just a few weeks ago in a church lesson something that went like this. That these special children of God were so perfect in heaven, so magnificent, that when they came to earth the only reason was to get a body. They don't need to be tested like the rest of us. It was a wonderful experience to go to the state games where nearly 700 athletes were there to preform in different events. Colt and I were there to be coaches but I think our team taught us more than we taught them.
Here is Taylor and Caleb, these boys are brothers. The younger has a handicap and the older doesn't. They were so cute, and I couldn't get over how patient and watchful the older brother was all the time.

Here we are waiting for the parade of athletes, it was kinda a long wait.

Colt coaching the team

yeah! go Rigby Panthers. ( Colt and I got to pick our teams mascot)

Colt and Will. Such a fun boy!

Lisa and Rosa, these two girls are my age! maybe we were friends in the prelife...

Yeah! Panthers go home with Gold medals! Good job team!!!

(One of) My Best Friends Wedding!

2009-06-23T09:55:00.000-07:00

SO I did one of my best friends wedding pictures a couple weeks ago. She was sooo gorgeous that day and could not have been happier! Thanks so much Ali for letting me do your wedding pictures!! Here is a few of my favorites!

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1st year anniversary!!!

2009-05-24T17:01:00.000-07:00

So Friday the 15th of May, two days before our anniversary, I came home to find the house decorated like this.

Apparently he has been planning all of this out for the last two weeks. From what he was going to make for dinner to buying 15 yards of sheer red material to create a sort of wall looking thing. Needless to say my gift to him wasn't quite so extravagant. oops. I cut out 100 hearts and wrote in 100 languages "I love You" then wrote 100 reasons why I love. I thought my idea was awesome until I saw what he had done. :) The surprize was not over yet though. Saturday morning Colt had voluntered to pick up trash with the special olympics team we are coaching this semester and when he got back he had surprized me with this beauty. So SO much fun.

oh and by the way. Colt and I had been saving this sparkling cider since last year. We got like 4 of them as wedding presents and saved one for our 1st year anniversary. Don't worry it wasn't fermented or anything. we hope. :)

Colt has always amazed me with his attention to detail and how creative he is! I don't think I could have asked for a better friend, companion, and example! Our first year together was so much fun and we have made some great memories! I can't wait to see what this year holds and what memories we will make. :)

Makemebabies.com

2009-04-26T17:22:00.000-07:00

haha this was hilarious! You go on this site and put a picture of you and spouse in then it creates a picture of what your kids could look like according to the pictures! I guess the my dark hair and colt's somewhat curly hair could apply to this one! haha

fun filled week!

2009-04-18T09:43:00.000-07:00

Colt and I went home to Carey last weekend, to start off our week long break. I start school this Monday and Colt begins studying for the DAT and shadowing a dentist. Anyway, so first off, we dyed eggs at 2:00 a.m. Friday night, sat morning, So Fun. We waited to start until Brooke got back from picking her prom date up from the Boise airport.
Here is mine and Coltley's eggs

I had a ton of fun doing Brooke's hair again. Here is Chad Packard and her all ready to go, she's gorgeous huh!

I grew up ice skating and absolutely love the sport! I told Colt that we needed to go ice skating in Sun Valley when we had time. This picture cracks me up because Colt's skates were kinda worn out and he kept looking down at them and feeling them. Despite the fact his skates were well used he still did an amazing job for his first time. By the time we left Colt was starting to get down the whole skating backwards thing! I guess that just means we will have to go again soon so he can get even better at it!

This is the Sun Valley Pavillion, the Mormon Tabernacle Choir performed here and the tickets were $500 a piece it really is an amazing structure.

After our fun filled trip it was back to Rexburg where we had a little bonfire to burn all of Colt's old homework from last semester and roast hot dogs and marshmallows!

We didn't get any pictures of these but we had a lot of fun with Colt's family too. Wednesday was our bonfire then thursday we watched a movie with them. Friday we went out to dinner in Idaho Falls with them then watched a movie that night too! We Love Vacations!

2009-04-04T16:15:00.000-07:00

Well, hello everybody! (Mckenzie in particular, haha, this for you! I really do write on my blog.) :) Holy cow! Colt and I can't beleive this semester is almost over! Craziness! I will admit that I am excited to move on to some different classes for the spring semester though. This is sad to admit but the only pictures I have taken this semester really have been for my photo class. oops. I guess I need to do better at taking pictures of Colt and I for posterity sake. Here are some pictures from Photo 160!

Last night when Colt got home from class at 5:30 he wanted to go on a bike ride. yeah, freezing is the word to describe Rexburg right now but we went anyway. It was so much fun! #1 Colt and I realized how out of shape we are and can't wait to start jogging and riding bikes in the summer. #2 I got to spend quality time with my husband! yeahh!

2009-02-11T08:28:00.000-08:00

So my cute little brother Shane came to see me this last weekend! I love him so much, we're best buds! He and one of his friends excitedly showed up at my house about 7:30 friday night, and to my surprize they brought the x box 360! I have never been any kind of a game person besides guitar hero every now and then but this one I actually kinda liked. Weird huh! So we had a fun time playing that till Colt got home from studying about 9:00 Then we watched a movie and went to bed about 1:00 am. ahhh! haven't done that in a while. lol Friday I took them up to the college to play some raquetball but apparently you have to bring your own ball, darn it, so we went swimming instead. oh yeah before we went to the college I told them they had to model for me because I had an assignment due in my photography class. haha. They actually did really good and were for the most part serious. Except when a car of college girls pulled by in a car and they made me stop taking pictures until they drove by. haha good times! Then we came home to get ready to go snowboarding. Shane's friend borrowed some of my parents ancient skies and boots. Needless to say they moved on to the next life this past saturday. Charlie, Shane's friend, was coming down our last run of the night and one of the boots cracked completly in half! Charlie was fine, just ended up sking the rest of the way down on one ski and laughing the whole time. It was rather hilarious to watch, but i'm glad he didn't get hurt. The next day at church i had all the beehives and miamaids ask about them and how old they were and how cute they both are. It was really funny! Anyhow, Colt and I had a blast with them this weekend! They are both such good kids with great personalities. Love you Shane! Thanks for the visit!

FuN fUn iN wEsT YeLloWsToNE

2009-01-25T16:43:00.000-08:00

So I decided this week, that I absolutely love teaching the beehives as their advisor. I have at least 12 girls there every week and love seeing each of their faces. I just had to say that, because my first few times teaching them I felt so out of place, they are just a few years younger than me after all. Any how that's just "Serene's random thought for the day." haha Colt and I are doing awesome! We love being able to travel to school together every day, then see each other after a few hours to come home for lunch, then go back to school for a few more hours. I know this time in my life will be over before I know it and then I will miss this stage we're in. We are both staying very busy this semester with school work, volunteer activities, "From the heart" college choir, preparing ym/yw lessons, mutual every tuesday, anddd ward choir (that we got recruited to, don't sit behind the choir director during Sacrament meeting. lol. In the midst of this we are trying to get Colt's application for dental school ready. He also tries to go to a local dentist at least once a week to get more shadowing time in. Life's great huh!
Colt is absolutely my number one hero! He is so great in so many ways and always tries to be the best he can be. Thanks hun!!! you're amazing!!
last weekend we got the chance to go up to West Yellowstone to stay in a cabin with some friends and go snowmobiling! Can I just say right now, SO MUCH FUN! We stayed up late playing the wii, prepared meals, sat in the hot tub, and went SNOWMOBILING! It was so beautiful up there. I told Colt someday we're going to have a summer home up there. I love the face he puts on and then says, "OK hun." You can always have dreams right?! :)

Colt trying to be deep in thought

2008-12-16T08:45:00.000-08:00

So a lady in my ward wanted me to take some family pictures for her in front of the temple. Only she wanted me to get the whole temple in the background. This was going to be a little tricky, because the people in the picture would end up really little. Considering I haven't had a lot of practice taking pictures of families I decided I wanted to run up the night before to see exactly how it was going to work. Colt was my model to see how close I could be to the family as well as get all of the temple in the background. While we were up there the flag was at half mast for the funeral of Elder Worthlin. When it got too dark to see Colt in the pictures, we decided to just take some of the temple.

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So we are a little sparce on ornaments for our first year, but don't you think Colt did an excellent job of finding our tree in the mountains.

This used to be my Grandma J's nativity. Somehow I was lucky to get it and it adds so much to the few decorations we have.

2008-12-15T11:08:00.000-08:00

So today is our first day off from school for Christmas Break. Only three weeks off from school but Colt and I feel like fish out of water. We are staying in Rexburg for the most part of Christmas break and trying to find things to do in our one bedroom apartment sometimes is hard to do. We woke up this morning at about eight, got ready for the day, then asked ourselves what needed to be done today. Clean house-check, no dirty dishes-check, bed made-check- homework done-well no homework to do. Besides the anatomy and physiology and physics books Colt ordered off the internet so he could study them over the break and get a "head start" on studying for next semester. Which he did open for a little bit our first day off. haha. Oh- I love my study-o-holic! So about eleven o-clock we decided to go hang out with Colt's parents and enjoy the lovely Christmas tree his mom set up and some Christmas music. It's so good to have family close by. So while I am waiting to put pictures of our Christmas tree on our blog (long story) I decided to do a rewind for this past year Colt and I have been together dating, engagment, wedding, and the after-life. : )

The first picture of Colt and I together. This is about two weeks after we met, at my sister's baby blessing. : )

Colt's first trip to Carey, last year over Thankgiving break.

Of course I had to see what my new last name would look like before I said yes. It looks nice huh.

I got several of these random pictures while we were dating. I love Coltley's sense of humor.
Wow I look lovely at seven in the morning huh. This was the day we were engaged.
Send out the announcements!
Together fo-eva!

4th of July in Utah. Thanks to Jordan and Cheyanne for their donation of sparklers to us.
Smile!

2008-12-02T10:42:00.000-08:00

Wow, I can't believe how fast time goes! Colt and I are loving life right now and are so happy each day that we have each other. School is going well for the both of us, but we are excited to be done for a few weeks after this semester is over. : ) After the break, I can't wait to get started in my photography classes and to learn more about all the cool features on our new nikon camera we got a few weeks ago. It seems to be way smarter than both Colt and I. haha. But it's pretty sweet! Well for Thanksgiving Colt and I went to Carey and got to spend time with Ginger and Cheyanne and their families, as well as Mom, Dad, Brooke, and Shane. It was such a blast to hang out with everyone there. Over the break Colt got to help my dad haul hay (haha) he loved it by the way. : ) We also got to go up by Ketchum to get our Christmas tree out of the mountains. Colt basically found the best one out the whole group and it only happend to be about 100 yards up a steep mountain covered with shale. Needless to say Colt had a time getting up the mountain, but it was all worth it. It is now in our living room all decorated and beautiful! We love Christmas! We will have more Christmas pictures coming soon!

2008-11-02T16:31:00.000-08:00

So for family night this last week, Colt's Mom had planned a very fun Halloween dinner activity. She said we could dress up if we wanted to and Colt didn't have to think twice about whether or not he wanted to. Needless to say Colt isn't scared about letting his inner beauty shine through! When we arrived at the house the windows were covered with black material as to give it a spooky effect. Also, there were spider webs made out of stretched cotton. After a few min. of getting a few chuckles out of everyone's costumes it was time to eat. The menu's were brought out and there were choices of Morgue remains, Full moon, werewolf claws delight, and my favorite ghost poop and goop. lol Needless to say we had no idea what we were ordering and were a little frightened but also excited to see just what these mysterious titles of food were.

2008-10-16T16:59:00.000-07:00

Shane was homecoming prince so Colt and I decided to go into the dance with my parents to watch him dance with the sophomore princess. As soon as we walking in the door Brooke came over and grabbed Colt to dance with her. Had to get to a picture of this. Oh and I thought I would get one more picture with favoritist little brother Shane before he outgrows me. : )

2008-10-16T11:11:00.000-07:00

Soooo this picture may look a little awkward, but I will explain how it happend that Colt ended up doing Brooke's makeup for the homecoming dance. Colt and I decided to go to Carey for the homecoming weekend. Well Colt had a test Friday night and so we didn't end up making it to Carey till late that night. Saturday Brooke and Shane decided they wanted to go to Hailey with Colt and I to watch a movie. This of course put us on a tight schedule to get Brooke ready before I had to be into the relief society broadcast! Appr. 45 min. is what we had! So Brooke asked Colt if he wanted to do her makeup. He of course being the big helper he is agreed and we were able to do her hair and makeup before I left. Colt kept making sure that he was doing everything right and we kept coaching him on what to do. I absolutely love this face he was making! He had such a steady hand when he was applying the eye liner. lol. I should have him do my makeup for me all the time.

2008-09-20T16:10:00.000-07:00

Everything's "sweet" with the "sweetens"

2008-09-20T15:36:00.000-07:00

Colt and I have officially been in school now for two weeks. We are getting used to the fact that we will have a lot more trips to the bookstore to spend our money on those marvelous items called books. hehe. Colt has about four or five semesters left while i'm going to try and go year round to finish up when he does. We love being back in Rexburg and get to hang out with the family whenever we have extra time. Last night we had a pizza party at our house with everyone then went out for ice cream later. So much fun! Then today we all ran up to the gardens to take some quick snapshots for our family pictures. Take a look...

The hidden Coins

2008-09-06T18:00:00.000-07:00

So mom Bingham came over last week to bring Colt and I a set of couches. Yeahhh! Our very own couches. She had found them for sale in Carey and was very nice about bringing them over to us in Rexburg. Well, as Colt and his younger brother Titan were hauling them up the stairs they heard the sound of several coins making a $ sound inside the couch. When they put the couches in our apartment they insisted that they needed to take the light material underneath the couch off so they could obtain their riches. They ended up finding several coins and other "interesting" trinkets in "the couch."

Going back to the elementary days

2008-09-06T17:50:00.000-07:00

So the other day a friend of mine called me and asked if she could come see me. Colt was at work so I responded oh yes for sure, I would love to have a visitor. Well quickly after that she said, "Great, I have finger painting equipment." Needless to say she showed up soon after that with her backpack on before I knew it she was sitting on the kitchen floor pulling large sheets of paper out of her bag for us to paint colorful pictures on. Here is the final project we accomplished. When it was done, I asked if she wanted to take it home with her and she said, "no give it to Colt." I got a rather large kick out of this when Colt got home and there was a finger painted picture waiting for him.

Family is where it's at

2008-09-05T10:31:00.000-07:00

Colt and I are now in our 2nd cute little home back in Rexburg, Idaho! We love being close to Colt's family and love spending time with them. In fact, soon after we moved back to Rexburg, daddy Sweeten had a wonderful idea to take the whole fam on a canoe trip. Overall we were rowing down the river for about three to four hours! It was such a blast! Yes, we should definetly make this a family tradition. Before school started Colt and I decided to make one last trip to Utah. Since we sooo love driving everywhere all the time. lol My family decided to throw a quick "get together" in the beautiful Park City, Utah. We got to stay in a cabin up there and had a blast with neices and nephews and the rest of the family. To say the least, Colt gets smuthered by all the neices everytime he attends a family reunion but he is a super good sport about it. They all want to play with Uncle "tolt" as Kambria would say. Before school starts Colt has been working with his dad in the painting business and has really enjoyed it. Coming this Monday it's time to hit the books and head back to school. Wish us luck!!!

2008-09-02T10:28:00.000-07:00

Colt (or Coltley as I like to call him) and I have been married for almost four months now and can't believe how fast time flies! The first time we met was at church in my hometown Carey, Idaho. Colt was hunting with his two uncles and younger brother Titan the day before we both were lucky enough to meet. We got to talking and found out we both would be attending BYU-Idaho that fall semester and from then on we became best friends. A lot of people say Colt didn't go hunting in Carey to find a deer but a wife instead!