Relay For Life

This past friday night was the Bingham County Relay for Life, the main fundraiser for the American Cancer Society. The event was held at the Blackfoot High School football field and track, where we camped on the field and walked all night long. The Relay began friday evening with a lap around the track by Cancer Survivors and then caregivers join in for the second lap and then all the teams join in for the third lap. From that point on, our team had at least one member walking the track until 7 a.m. Around 10 at night, they turned off all the tights and we lit our luminaria bags with candles glowing inside, each representing a person that has either survived or passes away from cancer. As we walked around the track in silence, there were luminarias on the bleachers spelling out the word HOPE. As we reached our campground, we turned to notice hope had been changed to CURE. That's when i realized what a great event for such a great cause- to find a CURE for Cancer. They had all kinds of fundraisers going on prior to the event along with a silent auction. There were around 60 teams walking and I didn't hear the final total, but I know our little city of Blackfoot and surrounding area raised at least $85,000! Although we all crashed Saturday morning, I am definately looking forward to walking next year. I'm so glad I had the chance to be a part of such an awesome event that helps out so many people. Thanks mom for all your hard work for our Relay team!

The group of Cancer Survivors beginning the Relay for Life!

Mom ready and waiting for the Relay to begin!

Isn't Aunt Linda the Best! She took Blake for a walk to see the fire engine hoisting the flag!

Becki and I getting ready to walk and walk and walk and walk!

ABC's of ME

Thanks Shelb for the tag!
ABC's of ME
A-Attached or Single? Attached. Definately.
B-Best Friend? Doug, Sherise, Angie, Rachel, Tessa, and Alana
C-Cake or Pie? Pie- apple, cherry, pumpkin, anything really.
D-Day of Choice? Saturdays in the winter when Doug doesn't have to work.
E-Essential Item? Cell Phone and Digital Camera
F-Favorite Color? Teal is my new fav!
G-Gummy bears or worms? Neither- watermelon sour patch
H-Hometown? Blackfoot, Iaho
I-Favorite Indulgence? Caramel Popcorn
J-January or July? July
K-Kids? Only one so far- Blake, 20 months
L-Life isn't complete without? Family, Friends, and let's face it- Food!
M-Marriage date? March 31, 2006
N-Number of brothers and sister? 2 brothers, 1 sister, 3 brother in laws, 3 sister in laws.
O-Oranges or apples? Apples... as in apple dumplings, caramel apples, apple pie. etc.
P-Phobias? Being along, rodents, natural running water.
Q-Quote? "Life is to be enjoyed, not just endured."
R-Reason to smile? Doug and Blake!
S-Season of choice? As a farmer's wife, we have winter, planting, summer, and harvest. I enjoy them all, but i'm enjoying summer and being about to work outside in the yard.
T-Tag 3 people: Stephanie Kreger, Ashley Olsen, Alysia Cook
U-Unknown facts about me? I pick up Blake's toys every few hours of every day. I can't stand the clutter and things not being in their correct place. I'm a little obsessive compulsive, and i make list after list after list to help me accomplish what needs to be done.
V-Vegetable? Love Corn on the Cob! Mmmmm!
W-Worst habit? Let's see... complaining, worrying, and i'm a little OCD, like Shelby.
X-X-ray or ultrasound? Only had 2 untrasounds, never had an x-ray.
Y-Your favorite food? Always up for steak and mashed potatoes from Roadhouse!
Z-Zodiac sign? Aries

Husband Tag

What is his name? Doug VanOrden
How long have you been together? We've been married for over 2 years.
How long did you date? All through High School.
How old is he? Doug will be 21 in December.
Who eats more? Definately Doug, but i make good competition in this area.
Who said I love you first? Doug.
Who is taller? Honestly, me... by about a half inch or so.
Who can sing better? For sure Doug.
Who is smarter? Well, let's see... i'm not the one with the college scholarship.
Who does the laundry? Me Me Me. Doug + Laundry = Disaster. I would love for his help in this division, but he's just so bad at it!
Who pays the bills? Doug makes the money, Laura spends the money- we make a great team! haha!
Who sleeps on the right side? Right now- me. But we switch it up every once in a while.
Who mows the lawn? For sure this is Doug's job. There is nothing about yard work i hate more than mowing. I have even weeded the lawn by hand but still hate mowing.
Who cooks dinner? Oh, is someone supposed to do that in a marriage? I guess it should be my job... No, i really do cook dinner every now and then. I will be honest and admit that we do share a frozen $0.93 pizza once in a while and call that "dinner."
Who drives? I would like to think that we share responsibility here. I know if i drive, i don't have to buckle Blake in because that is the passenger's job.
Who is more stubborn?Hmmmm..... Doug.

Who is more sensitive? Me

Who kissed who first? Doug kissed and i kissed back.

Who proposed? Doug.
Who has more friends? Probably me.
Who has more siblings? We both have three siblings.
Who wears the pants? Doug generally makes the final decisions, but generally we are both wearing pants or jeans of some sort.
I tag: Amber Campbell, Katy Rawlins, Tessa Barrow, Natalie Styer

Lucky Charms

This is how i found Blake after letting him eat his lucky charms on my bed while i got ready this morning. Gotta love those lucky charms!

Mom and Tot Swim Class

Blake and I finished our Mom and Tot Swim Class today. We have had five classes over the last two weeks where we played games, sang "swimming" songs, and other activites. Our two neighbors and their boys, Blake's nursery friends, were in the same class and we had lots of fun! Thanks to our class, Blake feels very comfortable floating on his back and his tummy (with help of course) and loves jumping off the ledge into my arms. Blake didn't quite get to the point of blowing bubbles in the water, but i don't blame him- i hate water in my nose and mouth! Maybe next year we will both be brave and learn how to blow bubbles! Blake was so proud of himself when he would kick his legs or jump into the pool- it was so fun to watch him enjoy the water so much!
Blake, Mom.... and Spencer!

Just a June Update

June has turned out to be busy busy busy and I have to admit that I am loving summer and everything it has to offer, especially the warmer temperatures. Last weekend we started tearing the roof off and by Thursday night we had a whole new roof. Thanks to all the family, friends, and awesome neighbors that helped us with the hard work. We really appreciate your help! Blake loved being outside and watching all the guys working. He kinda of got ignored all week, we're just glad he enjoys watching the "fun" from the pickup!We are also looking forward to cleaning out our garage so we can finally use it!

This last Saturday, we went to Lagoon with the the VanOrdens. I didn't take any pictures, so i will have to get a few from Jessica to post later, but we had a lot of fun. They have a few new rides and we especially liked Wicked and playing at Lagoon A Beach. We were planning on riding the Sky Coaster later in the afternoon but the power went out and the whole park was down. :( We enjoyed a nice dinner at Red Robin instead and can't wait for the one in Idaho Falls to open up! Thanks mom for keeping Blake so we could enjoy a fun day together!

This weekend Blake got to play in the sandbox at VanOrden's and he got to pet Grandpa Campbell's horses! Blake is all boy and loves being outside, getting dirty and any kind of animal, especially the horses!

Now I have to admit that I didn't plan anything exciting for Father's Day. Sorry Doug.... our new grill was intended for mothers/fathers day so Doug only got a new tie for Sunday. Blake colored a paper tie with yarn for his Dad in nursery and Doug wore it all day long! Blake loves his Dad so much and enjoys every moment he gets to spend with him. Thanks Doug for being such a great dad and husband. We love you and appreciate all you do for our family! This last picture is Blake watching Doug get dressed on Father's Day.... "i wanna be just like dad!"

Let Them Be Little

I was holding Rachel's new baby LaRee the other day and all these memories of when Blake was born just came flooding into my mind. There are so many details that I don't want to forget. Then today when we were at our Mom and Tot swim class, Blake was having so much fun and was so proud of himself for "kicking" and "swimming." I try everyday to engrain theses wonderful moments into my memory to never be forgotten. I love little Blake and the time we get to spend together just the two of us, reading, playing, and sometimes even a little cuddling. I'm so grateful I can be home with him because I know these are years I will never be able to replace. Life seems to go by so fast, I can't believe how grown up Blake is getting. Just like the song says, I just wish Blake would stay little forever!

Summer Fun is Here!

So let's be honest, our lives are getting busier as the summer begins, but not a lot worthy of its own blog post, so i thought i would leave a short update of our busy lives!

5 Exciting Things (to us anyways)

1. Today we ordered new windows for Blake's downstairs room and a new front door! Yay!

2. We got a new grill for Mother's Day/Father's Day!

3. Sheila taught Blake to say "please." He forget overnight...

4. We finally hung our red star up on our garage! So exciting, I know...haha!

5. We are looking at carpet and paint samples for our future office-yes blake is getting booted downstairs as soon as he is 2!

5 Things We Did This Last Week

1. Had a fun Modbe Party at Lyndsey's new house!

2. Helped with Elections for our precint last Tuesday

3. Blake got to go "farm" with Dad on Saturday

4. Had a nice visit with Amanda and Tyra Fullmer

5. Weeded a nice section of our dandelion filled lawn- not exactly fun, but rewarding i guess.

5 Things to Look Forward To In June

1. A New Roof- if its warm this weekend! Cross your fingers for us!

2. The V.O. Family "Reunion" at Lagoon on the 14th

3. Cooking all kinds of yummy food on our grill!

4. Mom and Tot swim classes at the Blackfoot Pool!

5. Participating in the Relay for Life

Here is Blake walking under to voting booths after "helping" mom set them all up before elections!

This is the Star I got at Real Deals almost 2 months ago! I finally got Doug to bring the ladder home to hang it up!

Doug and Blake "farming." Blake gets to ride in the front (with the air bag turned off of course) and look at the tractors, pivots, and anything else Doug makes look exciting!

This is our new Grill! I was too lazy to go outside and take the cover off ours to take a pic, so i stole this from the Walmart website!

And Here's a Pic of Jeff and Lyndsey's new house! We went to pic up my Modbe stuff and i just had to take a pic!