THE BIRDS AND THE BEES: "Mommy, when can I have a GIRLFRIEND?!?!"

So last night after our big "party" with Daddy I crawled into bed with Brady to read him some books. No sooner had I got all snuggled in when Brady asked:

"So, when can I have a girlfriend?"

I started laughing because it was so out of the blue! I thought maybe he got the idea because we were reading Aladdin (you know, the whole Aladdin/Jasmine thing...)

So I asked if he wanted to know because of Aladdin. He said:

"No, because I just wanted to know!"

I told him that he needs to be older like Uncle Andrew before he can have a girlfriend!!!

I then asked: "Is there someone you like for a girlfriend?"

This is what he said..."Well, maybe Hazel. She's got cool games, and well, she's kinda cute too!"

I laughed so hard! Hazel is our friends little girl (who is in fact and "older woman" to Brady!) Rachel, are you reading this?!?! What do you think?! I guess it's already begun! And plus, who wouldn't like her? She's got "cool games!!!"

The newest ASSISTANT MANAGER of Enterprise Rent-A-Car in Idaho!!!

That's right, your looking at the newest (and cutest) Assistant Manager for Enterprise!!!

Doesn't he look sharp?

The big day for our family has FINALLY come!!! Chris was promoted to Assitant Manager of the Twin Falls office today!! He starts in one week and that's when life will get real crazy for us!

When we moved here to Idaho we were expecting a position in Boise area so we signed a 9 month contract which enabled us to get a great deal on our apartment. there's probably a clause stating that we can get out of our contract due to job transfer but for now we're going to play it safe by having me and the kids stay right here until we know for sure that Chris' job is going well. This way we can save some money too and hopefully buy a house by the end of this summer!!!

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So, I'll be a "single mom" during the week for at least the next 7 months! It's going to be hard but this is a fantastic opportunity for Chris' career and for our family to get settled in one place! He also has the advantage with this position as he will automatically be promoted as BRANCH MANAGER by the end of the summer as well! That's an amazing opportunity that will really catapult him forward.

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Luckily Chris' parents live in Burley, about 35 mins. from his office in Twin Falls so he'll be staying with them in his old room! And we will take turns going to see each other every weekend. It's nice that I don't have anything to tie me down here so that the kids and I cna go stay there for several days if we want! It will work out and the sacrifice will only make our family stronger!

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He is so excited and we are so proud of him! Right from the first day Chris has been with Enterprise he has blown away the rest of his "competition" or peers. He was on a fast track to be "grilled" or advanced from a trainee to a Manager's Assistant. He was a favorite back in Maine and would have been selected for an Assistant Manager position a long time ago had they not changed their policy and needed him to do 3 months at the airport to get that experience first. Unfortunately, during his time at the airport the East Coast took a big hit economically and Enterprise had to lay off 1% of their workforce (these were the first lay-offs in company history!!!) Due to the financial state the region was in they also put a hiring freeze in place, meaning that no one could get promoted...that's when we began to feel like we needed to look outside of Maine and considered moving back to Idaho. Chris and I both felt really good and at peace with it...and now our prayers and patience has been answered!

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We celebrated tonight by me suprising Chris with a homemade candlelight dinner. We has black beans and rice (one of Chris' favorites) with broccoli and lemon pepper salmon. Brady helped me get everything ready and when Chris got hom he yelled out,

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"SUPRISE!!!

HAPPY CONGRATULATIONS BIRTHDAY DINNER!!!!"

(I think he was a little confused even though we went over the fact that it wasn't Daddy's birthday like 20 times!!! He knew he got a NEW job but didn't quite "get" it!)

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I'm so proud of you honey! Go get 'em!!!

(That's sparkeling cider by the way...no we haven't taken up drinking! LOL!!!)

Visiting with some of our "BESTEST" friends!!!

We're lucky to have so many of our good friends still living here in Idaho (but too bad we're 4 hours away!!!) It was a lot of fun for us to take a weekend trip to Idaho Falls and meet back up again with good friends!!!

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We stayed with Quinn and Natalie and had a great (and CRAZY) time at their house for the long President's Day weekend! They have 4 girls, so with us and our 2 kids it could get pretty hectic at times but I thought it went great and we enjoyed each other's company. We had some great steaks, yummy breakfasts and a night out at Craigo's.

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When we were going to college in Rexburg the Craigo's there was "a dive" that we hung out at all of the time! They had great breadsticks and pizza bombs which were so filling and cheap and there was always GREAT entertainment (infact, one band was my friend Nels'!!!) Lots of good times!!!

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The NEW Craigo's is NOTHING like the old one! They have TOTALLY re-vamped and they now have a full pizza, salad, pasta and dessert pizza buffet! YUMM-EEE!!!

This is the best pic I could get- everyone was enjoying their dinner!

Notice the stacks of EMPTY plates!!!

We'll definately be making a second, and third, and fourth ....appearance there!

Lily "Bean" their little cutie!

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There wasn't enough room for all of us at one table so Kaytee and Brady sat over at another table across from us. We noticed during the meal that they were being super good and when we looked over we saw how CUTE they were!! The picture doesn't capture the moment- they looked like they were on a little date and they were all laughing and "flirting" with each other! I wish I had my video camera because it was one of the most adorable things!!!

"AUNTIE HANNAH"

Then I tried to settle all of the kids down by reading LOTS of books!

It worked pretty well when I could keep Lily's attention!!

Notice all of the cute p.j.'s!!!

Brady had a great time playing with the girls and all of their fun toys! He even created his own "Barrel of monkey!!!"

(I wonder who the monkey is??!!)

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During the weekend we spent some time visiting with other friends as well.

On Friday we got to spend a good part of the day with BERTY one of my best girlfriends from college, her husband, Nate and their cutie of a puppy, Philly.

Berty is expecting their first baby in the summer. I can't wait to find out what they're having!!!

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The guys played some foozeball, we did lots of talking and catching up and we played darts (my FIRST time, which, was a little...SCARY!!!) I made some good holes in their wall and the scoreboard!!! WATCH OUT EVERYBODY!!!

Brady loved all of the attention from Nate (THANKS!!! You've found a friend FOR LIFE!)

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On Sunday we visited with some other great friends from college days-

The Chicks!!! Nels, Rachel, Hazel, Lilie and Elsie!!!

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Nels was one of my first best friends up at school and we've stayed close friends ever since. When he married Rachel the semester before I met Chris she became part of my life too!

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I found this funny pic of me and Nels during our freshman year together!!!

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I'm so glad we've stayed in touch all of these years! We've gotten to see each other's first babies and have lots of fun times. Lilie and Brady are about 5 weeks apart and now we got to meet the new babies, Elise and Olivia! I can already tell that they will all be great friends! Brady wasted no time getting to know the girls and they all got right to playing!!!

Rachel cooked us a really great dinner (somehow I didn't get a picture...) and Nels "carved" the turkey, or something like that! It was smoked so basically he just man-handled it and ripped it into shreds!!! We always knew that fighter in you would come out someday! Great job on conquering the turkey and serving it up, it was DELICIOUS!!! (even Brady asked for seconds, and thirds!!!)

The kids were very lucky and got to sit at the "MAGIC TABLE" and eat with "MAGIC PLATES!" Somehow it worked, because like I said, Brady ate everything all gone and asked for MORE!!! (That's quite an amazing thing!!!)

It was so much fun seeing our kids playing together and laughing and having a great time!!

Elsie warmed up to me after we'd been there a few hours- she's just the cutest little thing!

It was a long and wonderful weekend and it was so much fun to go away but it's always nice to COME HOME!!! We nestled in for the night and Daddy read our two beautiful "babies" some nightime stories...can't get much sweeter than that!

Olivia's Bedroom...not finished, but almost...

For anyone who knows me well, they know that I was soooooooo excited to have a little girl and decorate a room just for her!!! I've been "collecting" things for YEARS (I mean WAY before I was even married or thought about getting married!) So it's been really fun unpacking some of these things (like the plates on the pink shelf) and making other things for my precious little one's room!

I really wanted a vintage/shabby chic look to her room and I think it's coming together really well. I have some cute curtains to hang up but I still need to get a curtain rod. I also have some other fabric to sew some pillows (there's a bench seat under the window, and what little girl's room is complete without a window seat?!)

I also have some "BIG IDEAS" for some wall art which I'll begin working on as soon as I can find the right wooden frames at a craft store...

Here's what I have so far...

This is the right side of the room as you walk in...I got her adorable crib for $60!!! and the changing table for $50!!! (Got to love craigslist!!!) I had the white lamp and the shelf from when Brady was a baby but I re-worked the lamp shade and painted the shelf pink!

These are the cute plates I've been hanging on to for quite some time...

and I added the ribbon to hang the shelf with.

I think you really have to see this little lamp in person to fully appreciate it. I took some vintage looking scrapping paper and ripped it and then modge-podged it to the shade. Then I trimmed the shade with ribbon and some cream and white buttons (for the shabby effect)...

I had a bit of a problem when it came to storage for all of my crafting and scrapping supplies and the only room to put them in was Olivias. I have her closet all organized but I also needed some more space. I had these metal storage racks so I converted one with a pretty fabric slipcover (it's all I could come up with the make it look cute). Of course, this looks cuter in person too (doesn't everything?)

THE BEFORE:

THE AFTER:

(don't mind the clutter on top, I'm still getting things hung up)

TOP DETAIL:

BOTTOM DETAIL:

So, there you have it: one room fit for my little MISS LIVY!!! I can't wait to finish it.

Inspiring Inauguration of our new President

Inauguration 'Inspiring' to LDS Leaders LDS.org01/21/2009 02:19 PM MST

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints was represented at inaugural events for President Barack Obama by President Dieter F. Uchtdorf, second counselor in the First Presidency, and Elder M. Russell Ballard, a member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles.

“Elder M. Russell Ballard and I were very pleased to have been able to attend today’s historic inauguration of the 44th president of the United States of America. In doing so, we represented President Thomas S. Monson and the entire Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints,” President Uchtdorf said.

“It was inspiring to be an eyewitness to this peaceful, impressive, transfer of power and the swearing-in of the first African American president. We pray for President Barack Obama’s success in these challenging times and join in his expressions of hope and optimism,” he said.

President Uchtdorf and Elder Ballard attended the swearing-in ceremony on January 20 and will attend the National Prayer Service at the Washington National Cathedral on January 21.

“It is always an honor for the Church to be represented at the inauguration of a new president,” said President Thomas S. Monson. “We send our best wishes to President Obama and pray for the blessings of a loving Father in Heaven to be upon him and his administration.”

---Text and Picture provided by LDS.org (http://ldslivingonline.com/article.php?articleId=98315)

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I was happy to watch the Presidential Inauguration of both Vice President Biden and President Obama. I thought that Obama's speech was both inspiring and true. It is time for America to move forward and I am "one of those" that beleives that President Obama has the capacity to do so. He said that there are many who criticize his "big dreams and goals" but to look at America and how far we have come and the things that have already been accomplished. Not that many years ago he, as a black man wouldn't even have been allowed to enter most public restaurants and now here he is, voted into the highest office that out nation holds. I think that is proof alone that America and her people are capable of a great many things and great change!

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I for one feel priviliged to live during this time on earth, when the gospel in it's fullest and we are witness to so many great and marvelous things! We may not agree with many choices that President Obama may make during his Presidency but we need not fear! For God is truly at the helm, and He alone can govern the earth and His works will not be frustrated. I believe that President Obama is a good man, with an honest heart, a commitment to the country we live in and all of the people who live here. He wants change and we greatly need it! We must pray for our new President and trust in God! Press on everyone! May we all be doing our parts in whatever capacities we can fill in whatever corner of the earth we live! "By small and simple things, great things are brought to pass!"

Back to blogging...

My Auntie told me the other day that I needed to put something new on the blog because she was bored with my old posts! LOL, I guess it have been a few weeks...here you go Donn Donn!

"Miss Livy"

Olivia has been keeping us quite busy lately. She's become a lot more mobile, which is fun, but the days are soon upon us where she'll be into anything and everything! Brady continues to be such a good brother to her. He makes her smile just by looking at her but he can also get her laughing unlike anyone else. I guess his silliness pays off sometimes!

Livy ROLLS all over the place and has just started to get up on her knees a little and rock back and forth! She LOVES eating (especially bananas with mixed berries). When she eats she makes "mmm-u-mmm-u-mmm" sounds (which is very cute!) And if you don't get that spoonful in her mouth right when she wants it she gets very upset!

Here she is sporting some sweet potato (we're not usually this messy, but a baby has to have food all over their face if you're doing a post about it!)

Some more favorites that I've taken recently. She was in a really happy mood here so she was pretty playful with my camera-taking. She's 5 months (almost 6!!!) She loves to jibber-jabber, roll, chew on anything and everything (including hubby's shoes when he takes them off and elaves them in the livingroom- GROSS!!!) Oh, and her first little tooth is making it's way forward so I'm sure we'll have a post about that soon too!

Finished Room #1 in our Apartment!!!

Brady's room has been done for a couple of weeks now. His room was the first room that I tackled and finished because I had to get so many things for his room that I just wanted to get it all and get it done with! Before moving I found an awesome deal on his bunkbed on Craigslist. It's solid wood and originally cost $1200. My price $300!!!

We talked all about his new BIG BOY BED for weeks and he was really excited when it got set-up and he got to sleep in HIS OWN BEDROOM ("Yee-Haw!!!)

Considering that we live in the WEST now and that I LOVE "Cowboys" I thought that would be a cute theme for his bedroom. We went to the store and picked out his bedding and made his room a really fun place for him to play. Isn't it soooo cute?

I got the bedding (mix and match) at Target, which was expensive but it is really good quality and will last him a long time. Besides it included sheets, pillowcases, pillows etc...all of which he needed. We finally got to unpack all of his stuffed animals that have been in storage.

The blue night stand I found at Big Lots for $49, which is such a steal! It's really heavy duty sturdy and has a nice distressed look, which was what I was going for.
I already had the curtains in storage so I just bought a curtain rod.

I already had the yellow book shelf (notice the adorable little teepees that I picked up at a used chidlren's store for $2.99!!!) and the blue bench seat (yard sale find $5!!!) I thought all of the colors came together really nice and that it's such a fun little boys room!

Brady also helped me "embelish" the letters that spell his name. We added some blue cowboy scrapping paper, some brown gigham ribbon and some buttons, which he hand-picked from the craft box! Modge Podge, hot glue and an hour to dry...wallah!!!

The comings and goings...

December and the beginning of January were busy for us!

Aside from unpacking, getting to know the area and new people we also had so much fun visiting with several of my cousins! My cousin Abe and his wife Sarah and their little girl, Tally live in Meridian, about 15 mins. from us so we've been doing something with them at least once a week! This has been such a blessing because they've really taken us in, shown us the area and treated us to some good dinners and fun!

Abe got tickets to the Humaitarian Bowl here in Boise which he invited Chris to go to (and they had so much fun!) Abe's brother Alonzo, and his wife Ashley came down from Bozeman, Montana for the game too so we got to meet Ashley for the first time and catch up with "Zo." We went to a great Thai restaurant right down the road from where we live which was soooooo good!!! The next night we went to Abe and Sarah's for some great Mexican food!

The following week my cousin Chaz (from my dad's side of the family) came up to Boise with his wife, Dessie. She is from here and it was a lot of fun to meet her and catch up with Chaz who I hadn't seen since the day Chris and I got married!!! It's been really great meeting new members of our family!!!

Olivia took right to Chaz! She's been meeting so many new people lately that she has gotten used to being "passed around!"

And, last of all, my cousin Lorraine and her husband, Geoff passed through Boise on their way back from Montana where they spent the holidays. They recently moved to Portland, Oregon so it was fun to see them and have a nice visit.

We enjoyed an early breakfast with them at Abe and Sarah's!!!

Water fun at Thousand Springs

The day after Christmas, Chris' sister, Nickie and her husband, Nick and their little girl Lexi ( 15 months) came up from Blackfoot where Nicki's family lives (they had celebrated Christmas there). They flew in from Philadelphia where Nick is an intern in medical school and Nickie is a dental hygeniest. Anyhow, we got to spend a few days with them before we had to head home to Boise. We also found out that we have another neice or nephew on the way!!! Nickie is expecting in July (not ANOTHER July birthday!!!!)

Mom and Dad Graf brought is to Thousand Springs (formerly known as Sliger's) in Hagerman. It's natural hot springs and a really neat place! They have a waterslide, diving boards, shallow wading area, basketball hoop and a floating log that slips and spins when you try to get on top of it. We had a great time swimming, splashing and playing!

Brady was very brave and went down the water slide. Once he tried it he had to go down again and again! Daddy and Grandpa took turns catching him at the bottom! Here he is climbing the stairs up to the slide (I thought the silhouette effect in this picture was really cool!)

Livy LOVED the water and once she got used to it she splashed away and just sat there all content and smiley!!! This was her frist time in a pool...

Chelsae shows us her skills on the log!!!

Lexi loved the water too and splashed all around!

She even went under a few times and came right back up smiling!!!

That Grandpa swam the whole time with Lexi, Livy or Brady!!!

Thanks for a GREAT afternoon! After we finished swimming we headed to Johnny Carino's for a delicious lunch! From there we all raced home to get ready for a family portrait shooting...(and we made it on time! Quite an accomplishment when there's 5 women in the house, 3 men and 3 kids!!! and less than 2 hours to get ready!!!)

Merry Merry Merry Christmas!

This year we spent Christmas at Chris' parents house and had a great week! We were able to travel down the night before Christmas Eve and have a few days to spend as a family. Some of their traditions are having Sunway sandwiches on Christmas Eve and then reading from Luke 2 and re-enacting the birth of our Savior. Grandma Jones always stays the night and opens presents with everybody on Christmas morning and then later we go to her house for goodies and opening presents under her tree.

Grandpa and Grammie were Joseph and Mary, Olivia was baby Jesus and Brady was a shepard boy. We all wore the "traditional" towels on our heads and I read from the Bible. We also sang some Christmas hymns and joked about how we should start our own choir (haha!) Shawnae played beautifully for us on the piano though!

Chelsae with her big brother, the serious shepard!!!

Brady actually didn't wake up until 8 on Christmas morning (Because he didn't get to bed until like 11:30!!!) So we all got to sleep in a little. He checked his note from Santa and then we all opened our stockings. Another Graf family tradition is getting little boxes of cereal in their stockings every year. It's still a hit with all of the "kids!" I think we may have to begin that tradition in our own home. It will be fun over the coming years to begin to establish the traditions that we'd like to keep within our own family during the holidays.

We'll also be keeping the tradition of wearing Santa hats while opening presents. When I first married Chris and we had our first Christmas with his parents I thought this was really cheesy and was a little embarassed to be wearing a Santa hat, but I think I've loosened up a little over the years and I do have to say that it's a fun tradition for the young and old and it makes Christmas morning silly and fun!

Grandpa "man's" the camcorder...

Here's the beautiful tree before we ransacked it of it's beautiful gifts!!!

I was so excited to buy all of us Christmas p.j.'s this year!!!

It helped me feel very "Christmasy" in deed!!!

Isn't that precious???!!!

Even little Livy had on her tiny Santa Hat!!

We all got some great gifts from each other (and Santa!) Brady made out like a bandit with remote-control race cars, puzzles, books, games, action figures and movies. He had so many gifts from everyone that he opened about 2 or 3 gifts to every one that everyone else opened! He was a very excited little boy and it was fun to watch him!

Olivia actually tore open some of her presents and liked the wrapping paper the best! She got some cute outfits, toys and baby food!

Chris and I were spoiled by mom and dad Graf with an annual monetary gift and some decorations for our new apartment, and a new movie. They also continued to spoil us through out the week with good food, eating out, swimming at Sliger's and fun family time!

We gave mom and dad this cross-stitch of the Savior (I also gave one to my parents) and each one took me approximately a year to complete. Now what am I going to do while I watch t.v. or movies?!?!




Shawnae and Chelsae gave mom this sassy little jacket which she loved and proceeded to model for us!!! How many Grandma's look that hot?!

Dad got a nice coat too from mom! They'll both be looking sharp this year!

And Grandma got this nice little remote!!!

We almost died laughing when she opened this up! I don't think she'll lose this one!!!

We somehow forgot to take a picture of the girls' big gift in all of the excitement because they boy got apple I-pods!!! Needless to say, they were very very excited!!!

It was a good Christmas for all!

Probably the best gift we could have given to mom and dad was to be there with them. Grandpa Graf was quite taken with little Olivia and she really loved him too. She didn't have a problem bonding with anyone and was the sweetest baby the whole week.

I missed my family in Maine of course but it was nice to be with Chris' family again too. This year is going to bring a lot of changes for our family and i'm excited to see all that unfolds! We wish everyone a very Merry Christmas from our hearts and home to yours!!!

~The Graf Family