West Family

Mainly Pictures

2011-04-09T15:04:00.000-07:00

So let's see...lots has gone on. Bentley was hospitalized for RSV. It was scary but he was a fighter. Since then he has gained tons of weight, I blame some of it on all the steroids they have him on - but mainly he just feels better and is eating like crazy. His cheeks are HUGE. He is so pleasant. I can't get enough of him. Annalee has grown up so much. She is so funny. Everyone who knows her says she has the best personality. I have to agree. She is so strong-willed and stubborn. It makes it interesting. Kenny is working hard and will be gone for three weeks in May with the Army. We are not looking forward to that. We do have a trip planned to Cancun at the end of June. We will be going with Kenny's family. We are staying in the same place Kenny and I did on our honeymoon so I am super excited. The kids will love the swimming pools. There is still so much snow here. I've never seen anything like it. We finally saw some of our lawn and then we just got like another foot. Kenny and I are redoing our deck and extending it and I think we will be doing it in five feet of snow. Enjoy the pictures.

Before Getting Sick

After...Feeling Much Better

Bentley In A Bumbo

Annalee In a Bumbo

Bentley Finally Home From Hospital But With Oxygen

Annalee Taking Care of Bentley

She Would Read to Him and Sing All Day Long

Annalee Loves Getting Ready...Only Problem Is She Is Brushing Her Teeth With The Wrong End...She Knows It - She Kept Saying, "Mommy Look, I'm Funny Huh." What A Nut.

Mr. Smiley...He Loves to Smile.

Well I have a lot more to post but both of the kids are crying now. One reason why I never get on the computer :)

Finally...an update.

2011-01-24T05:44:00.000-08:00

Finally....a post:) I ended up staying in the hospital until I had little Bentley Max West. A total of three weeks in the hospital - I could do a whole post on that but will refrain because I don't want to tear up right now. Lets just say that through prayers and a WONDERFUL Doctor, Bentely arrived three weeks early on November 9th. That was our goal, to make it to 37 weeks and for him to get bigger. When I got to the hopsital they started me on steroid shots and very strict bed rest, they thought they would have to delilver at any time and he wasn't weighing even four pounds. If my blood pressure was good I got one 15 minute wheel-chair ride a day. Imagine how crazy I was going. Imagine how much I missed my husband and little girl. I loved when they would come visit me about every other day. I could hear Annalee's squeeky shoes down the hall and could hear her yelling Mommy as she knew exactly where my room was. She loved playing with the latex gloves, eating my food, and of course taking over my bed:) My mom came the week I delivered and it was so nice to have her help and take a little burden off everyone else from Annalee, she is a lot of work and everyone commented on that; however, she is very brilliant. During my hospital stay she started to potty-train herself, that's right my 18 month old potty trained herself. What a gal.

Our miracle Bently Max West was 5 pounds 13 ounces and 19.5 inches long. Just a small bundle of joy. He dropped down to 5 pounds 3 ounces in the hospital and it got everyone pretty scared. He and his sister have been polar opposites...he is very calm and sleeps often. She is very energetic and doesn't like to sleep much. They have been so fun.

Just two months later Bentley has gotten so big. He was in the 20th percentile at his 2 month check up so I'm sure he will catch right up. He is awake more now and smiles all the time. He has had to do breathing treatments, but not as bad as I thought it would be. Apparently boys are a lot more prone to be sick, and they were worried about his lungs developing completely anyway...but he is GREAT:)

Christmas was wonderful. Annalee was so much fun. She loved decorating the tree and redocrating the tree.

We opened stockings first and she got this hat and sunglasses from Santa and she had to wear them the rest of the morning.

Life with two little kids, working full time, Young Women's, and a husband that works shift work has been interesting to say the least. My house may not be as clean as it could be and the laundry sure piles up, but we are having a blast!

What A Week

2010-10-29T06:05:00.000-07:00

Just a quick update...I've been in the hospital on bed rest since Wednesday. High blood pressure...thank you Eagar chromosomes! I'm going crazy...bed rest is bad enough but in a hospital. I walked down the hall to the nursery and got a little scolded by my nurse and CNA...they told me to limit my trips to only one a day and short ones. Do they know who I am! Perhaps the hardest part is that I'm missing Halloween stuff with Annalee. I don't really like this Holiday but Annalee enjoys life so much right now that she makes everything special. I cannot thank my wonderful husband and sister Whitney enough. They have jumped in and taken care of everything. Whitney's recent blog posted that she has had two hours of sleep in two days and has tons of laundry to do and she is so thankful for her unmarried and childless life...she said I need to come home soon. Oh she is a life saver. She even rushed to Evanston last night with Annalee so that she could go to one of the parties. I was feeling bad because she missed her class parties and probably won't go trick or treating...Whit did a good job getting her dressed and making it work...I had her costume strung from here to there and whit made it work in a short amount of time. Cutest lady bug ever!

Fun Pics

2010-08-10T20:40:00.000-07:00

Yes, it's been awhile. Lets see there has been 4th of July, 10 Year Class Reunion, Work, Girls Camp, work, Lake Powell, remodeling our house, going to the lake, work, finding out we are having a baby boy :), work, and a lot of pic-nics to the mountains. Here are some pictures...

Kenny and Annalee loved riding the 3-wheeler at my mom's house. I'm not sure who liked it more...but they were always riding it.

We all went fishing at Big Lake...Whit and I were more spectators. Nobody caught a fish but we had fun. My mom still took care of the yucky worms like she always used to.

I was so happy to be home in Eagar for the Fourth of July. There is nothing like being home...I got to enjoy my mom's home cooking, seeing a ton of family, and relaxing. It was awesome. I LOVE MY MOM! And Whitney, and Shane and his family...it was just so much fun.

Girls Camp...what a blast. These are such great girls. I'm so glad I was able to go for the whole time. A BIG thanks to Whitney for watching Annalee, even while she was sick.

It's starting to get cold here in Wyoming, I can tell winter is close. So, we go to the Uinta Mountains a lot and try to squeeze every bit out of summer we can. Annalee loves it, especially since there is a river close by. I have to watch her because she will pick up a rock and run for the river to throw it in. I love going to the mountains, it reminds me of home.

Annalee and her two cousins Kendall and Emmerson. They always go on walks when we go to the mountains.

And Kenny enjoys fishing. Although right after this picture he lost his dads shoe that he was wearing and then fell in and got soaked. And, he still hasn't caught a fish.

Annalee has some funny funny faces she pulls. Everyone is teasing her here trying to get her to make her faces. Oh she is a drama queen, but at least she is a cute, funny drama queen.

And perhaps our family favorite thing this summer....going to the lake. Annalee loves the boat and hates to get out when we are done. She has been on the tube and even fell asleep on it once. I'm pretty sure she will try water skiing next summer. We are going to Lake Powell again and have a house boat for a couple of days. It will be nice, although I have to admit I am pretty disappointed to be missing out on wakeboarding and water skiing at one of my favorite lakes. Last summer when I could do water sports we never made it to a warm, nice lake. Weird how this summer that I can't do water sports that we will make it to Lake Powell twice....EVEN WITH A HOUSE BOAT! Mother's really do sacrafice for their children...jk I'm so excited to be having another sweet baby in our family. At our ultrasound the baby would not cooperate. Of course I was devastated so my doctor told me to try a fetal photo place in the mall and they were usually pretty accurate...so we went and it was pretty clear on the picture that it is a boy. We are so excited - Bentley Max West, expected to arrive on Novemeber 20th if everything falls into place.

About You Hair.

2010-05-06T18:06:00.000-07:00

Wow I wish I was better at keeping this updated....but I'm not...so you get little updates and maybe a few pictures. Kenny Graduated from the Police Academy! YEAH. It was a hairy ceremony with Annalee...I missed the whole thing cause she wouldn't sit still. Seriously it was hairy, zoom in and look at my hair. What the, why didn't anybody say anything.

Then after graduation we went to AZ to visit the family. It was so much fun. We had Easter, Shane and Jen had their baby, and we ate and played a lot. This was Easter morning.

I looked over and Annalee seriously had her bunny basket over her head. She is a crazy nut and makes me laugh so hard.

Here is Shane and Jennifer's baby. She is so sweet and so small. This was her a few hours old. Oh she is precious! Shane blessed her a couple weekends ago and I'm so proud of him. He is such a cute dad.

We then went to Mexico for a couple of days. Annalee loved being outside...it took awhile for her to like the pool but after we found the indoor heated pool all she wanted to do was play in the water.

After Mexico I went back to Eagar and Kenny flew home to work. It was a blast playing with the new baby and seeing Shell and the boys. The weather was pretty decent in AZ too so we got to play outside...This is the boys flying kites.

Then Annalee and I had to make the 13 hour drive back, and yes we came back to snow :( I'm not sure how I'm going to handle this crazy Wyoming weather. They basically have two seasons winter and a short summer. Well in other news Annalee's follow-up appointment at Primary Children's went well. Yes, she does have ptosis, no there isn't really anything to do for it now unless it gets worse. The good thing is she will keep that same specialist her whole life so that is a big bonus. Poor girl, she already has an annual eye appointment. Her new thing is she will fold her arms before she eats. It's amazing what kids can pick up. She doesn't keep her arms folded the whole prayer but at least she does it. We were at a restaurant and we put a plate of food in front of her and she folder her arms and looked at us. I love her!!!

Gotta run to work or I'd post more...and yes, I am pregnant. Not planned at all, I was pretty depressed about it and now we are super excited. Our new little baby is due Nov 30th.

Business in the FRONT - Party in the BACK

2010-03-21T17:36:00.000-07:00

Wow there is so much I need to update on...but I am pretty sure I will only get to touch on a few things. Annalee and I fight over the computer - serious she loves to type. Warning...it's going to be random.

Well we went to Primary Children's Hospital and they noted she has slight ptosis, but because she didn't cooperate they need to see her again in April. I'm wondering what cooperation they excpect to get out of a one year old who is EXTREMELY active and you are dilating her eyes and some stranger is prying them open while her mom is sweating from pinning her down. I can't wait for our next appointment. I can totally see the lag in her left eye but the Doctor said he doesn't really think it is anything to worry about. I can see it, but I'm the mom. It doesn't seem to slow here down....she is walking like crazy :) She started walking about two weeks before she turned one and she hasn't looked back since.

She is sooo funny.

Walking!

Kenny graduates from the Police Academy on March 31st. I surely can't wait for this to be done. It has been really hard working full time, being basically a single mother, and remodeling our basement. Annalee is certainly a daddy's girl and when he is home on Saturdays they can't get enough of eachother. I can't handle it when he leaves - she follows him to the door and she just cries and reaches out her hands for him. March 31st!!! March 31st!!!

Annalee's first birthday was pretty sad. She was diagnosed with RSV the night before so we had to cancel her party. The theme was Dr. Suess and I had so many cute things for it, but it was more important that we take care of her. She has been pretty sick lately and let's just say that she can give herself her breathing treatments. Through it all she still laughs and is just a great girl. One good thing from the Police Academy is her and I have gotten to be so close. She's my girl.

We still had cake and ice cream with Kenny's family after her birthday with Kenny's family. She didn't like the birthday crown but she did love the cake and presents :) By the end of the day she was so tired she fell asleep giving her favorite doll kisses on the floor! I can't believe she is a year old!

Not a chance. Clapping for herself while we sang!

Yummy! Crashed.

I don't think I've posted the typical bath picture...so here one is!

Last week we got to go see Kenny on Wednesday - he only had one class so we got to spend a couple of hours with him. The five hour drive was so worth it though. Annalee found her next love - a firetruck shopping cart! Look at her hair. She is getting curly curly hair in the back and is still as bald as can be in the front. Business in the front - party in the back.

Christmas Year Round

2010-01-09T12:26:00.000-08:00

Yes, I wish Christmas could be year round.

Here's to the Good Ole Days

2010-01-04T20:51:00.000-08:00

The cashier at Walmart tonight was so cute. He was trying to make the best of his shift and was so nice. He asked how my 2009 was. I told him that "It was a lot." He hadn't heard that response in the three days he's been asking that question. I explained to him that I had moved 3 times, had a baby, got a new job, and a few other things. He was shocked that all happened in one year. I told him that not every year was that busy for me. On my drive home I reflected on the past and where my life is now. I love my life, but did think about the good ole days in Flagstaff. Ironically, someone posted some OLD OLD pictures of Flagstaff, I mean from the beginning days in Flagstaff. In these pictures I experimented with black hear, I'm super glad I don't have black hair anymore. To those of you who may recognize these pictures I hope they make you smile as I did. Enjoy...here's to the Good Ole Days.

Flagstaff Mr. Institute Pageant...I think I was the host for four years!

Friday Night Activities and Lunch for a Buck...need I say more.

Perhaps The Cutest Baby

2009-12-16T20:58:00.000-08:00

I can't post them all because that would ruin the surprise of Christmas cards and Christmas presents for some people, but wouldn't you agree she is perhaps the cutest baby....hope you all are enjoying your Holidays. We sure are!

whAt a DaY cAN BriNg!

2009-11-18T19:01:00.000-08:00

My sweet Annalee has been sick lately. I don't like it, but don't worry she still smiles when she can. So I got her into the Doctor, which was perfect cause we needed to do a 9month check-up anyway. So we found out that she is the average height/weight of a 15month old and she is only 9months. I love that big girl. So she has a really bad sinus infection that is causing her to be really congested. I was telling my doctor a few of my other concerns/ questions when I brought up Annalee's eye. Annalee's left eye droops sometimes, never was really bad, mainly when she was tired. Well we got some pictures done a few weeks ago and a few of them came back with that dang left eye droopy (btw, they are the cutest pics and will post some later when I get the CD back!). My doctor then changed her tone of voice, she stated that she had been watching it throughout the appointment and just thought it was because Annalee was sick, but now that I was telling her it was like that before she was concerned. She said she didn't want to scare me (uh wrong thing to say to a first time mom), but that she thought I needed to make an appointment with Primary Children's Hospital in Salt Lake and see an eye doctor there. Uh second way wrong thing to say to a first time mom. I didn't freak out or anything, just asked a few questions of her concern and what she thought it could be. She noted ptosis. We finished the appointment, I got in the car a a tear fell down the check...what the heck is ptosis and what is it going to do to my dauther's eye. I don't really know if a mother really ever stops praying in her heart, but I said a prayer outloud for my baby. I called Primary Children's Hospital and they said the next available appointment for non-emergency eye appointments was Jan 7th...uh third thing wrong to say to a worried first time mom. I got on the internet and googled about ptosis...what the heck it can cause you to loose your vision, Jan 7th is totally unacceptable. I called the local eye doctor and he got me in two hours later. Long story short, he does not see it being ptosis, but actually has concern over the right eye, he thinks the left eye is developing normal, but the right eye is a little behind. Sweet man didn't even charge me for a visit. He recommened keeping the appointment in January just in case. Seriously, what a day can bring. We have serious breathing treatments for annalee, sinus medicine, and of course my worrying over the eye(s). I feel so much better tonight, but told Kenny that I think we need to get vision insurance. Another long story short, but we have the best insurance in the world through the army, but no vision. We can get crappier health insurance through the police department, but it has vision insurance, maybe Heavenly Father is giving us time to get vision insurance, or maybe everything is okay, but I am grateful for his tender loving care over my precious daughter. What a day can bring.

Saved By the Bell and My Sister

2009-11-09T19:59:00.000-08:00

On Saturday I was downstairs changing out some laundry and I heard the old, beloved Saved By the Bell song on TV. I couldn't believe it. I had no idea they replayed the episodes on Saturday mornings. I laughed even harder when I cam upstairs and found my husband sitting on the couch laughing at the TV. He told me how much he loved Saved By the Bell....it just so happened to be the episode when they all took the SAT and Zac scored the highest and Jesse freaked out. Yes, we watched the whole episode and loved remembering the good ole days of coming home from school and watching Saved by the Bell...oh I miss those days of good wholesome TV.

Today I felt like I was going to go crazy - I pass the State Hospital on my way to work and today I thought "Maybe I should just stop and check myself in!" JK I've been super busy with my new job (STRESS), Annalee teething and not wanting me to put her down, remodeling/finishing our whole downstairs, my calling taking a lot of time, and taking my CDA class. My house is seriously a wreck - I just run from one thing to another, and get this, someone called the cops on us because our cars aren't registered in Wyoming yet. WHAT! Kenny's Sargeant called him and told him of the complaint and that it looked really bad to have a police officer with unregistered cars..so tomorrow I somehow have to squeeze in getting three cars registered in Wyoming, working 8 hours, being a mom, and taking a 3 hour class. BUT, tonight my sister Whitney came to drop off some stuff and she helped me with a Walmart run for work, unloaded my dishwasher, and gave Annalee a bath. It really Saved my Bell.

Change

2009-10-15T21:14:00.000-07:00

I don't think my life has every changed as much as it has in the past two years. Yesterday was my last day at my job at Northwest Middle School - it was very sad but the best choice at this time. Tears were shed, hugs and gifts given, and I closed my office door for the last time. What a learning experience that job has been.

I'm officially a Wyoming cowgirl now. I miss home (Arizona). I miss my mom.

I got called to be the Young Woman's Secretary. Crazy, after only one Sunday in my new ward. The ladies I serve with are amazing and one of them and I actually "met" each other this past summer as she was looking for a teaching job and I happened to call her for an interview...how in the world did we both end up in Evanston Wyoming, same ward, serving together in the YW's presidency. Last night after our meeting we chatted for a bit and I can tell that we will be great friends. I love our new ward already and am so excited to serve in the YW's.

So here are some pics of Annalee...so funny. This is us walking to and from General Conference. She is hilarious....just check it out....

NICE WALK WITH MOMMY

"I KNOW I'M CUTE"

GETTING ROCKED TO SLEEP

DEAD ASLEEP! (I DIDN'T PULL IT OVER HER EYES, IT JUST HAPPENED! hahaha)

Little Updates

2009-09-20T17:25:00.000-07:00

There is so much I could write about...life seems to be moving at such a fast pace. So I will just do a few quick updates. Warning, this may be long and boring, with little pictures. You have my permission to skip this post.

We are moving into our house on September 28th. This has been a huge blessing. The house is big, almost 3,000 square feet. There are six rooms and three bathrooms. However, there is some work to be done in the basement, we had to take out four feet of drywall all over the basement and take up the carpet. We plan to do all that work ourselves and when we have money. We will be completely re-doing the bathroom downstairs as well. The upstairs is completely perfect, minus some of the color choices of the walls. Annalee's room is bigger than the master bedroom, so I am excited because all of her furniture, including her rocker will fit in there. The house has already appraised for 22,000 more than we are buying it for and that is without the basement work we are going to do. Seriously it was a blessing and we are so excited. I feel like I have been unsettled since April, well really I have been. I can't wait to get all my stuff out of storage, especially since it is fall and I have great fall decorations. I'm hoping with all the extra room my family will come and visit a lot, or I will adopt lots of African children to live there.

That brings me to another subject. Friday at school we had the Matsiko choir from Uganda perform. It took me back to my days in Africa. I miss it. I miss the children. We are really so blessed. The performance was so inspiring and made me want to conquer the world, or at least help in anyway that I can...not just in Africa, but everywhere. It was one of those enlightening moments. Love it.

Annalee is getting so big. I can't get enough of her. She is so wonderful. She has a little tooth poking it's way through, so we've got lots of slober. She laughs all the time. She laughs and laughs. Everyone stops to tell me how beautiful and perfect she is, she is a crowd favorite for sure. The other night she took pictures with some of her cousins that were born last year and they were crying or pulling off their hats in every picture, not Annalee. She posed in every single picture. I have to get the copies because she was perfect and the thing went on for like an hour. I'm glad she can look good in pics cause her mom sure cant. This is a picture of her just being her funny self...my camera is in storage so I don't have any updated pics but Whit took these awhile ago.

I love to squeeze her every single day. I tell her I have to give her a million kisses a day. Some days I probably hit that mark :)

We've got to play with Whit a few times. She came up last weekend to help watch Annalee while we did a few things at our new house and to watch Annalee while I spoke in church. Thanks Whit...you're just great!

Saturday was my last day of going to the laundry mat, one more bonus about buying a house. It really is such a pain to load everything up, spend at least $20 and 3 hours sitting at a laundry mat. Annalee and I have made it pretty fun though, she always comes to help me and Kenny has even come many times to help. There is something to say about having family time, working together...no tv, no interruptions, sometimes just sitting there waiting for the clothes to dry. Don't get me wrong, I won't miss it that much, but will just have to find other ways to have absolutely nothing going on for three hours!

Kenny goes to the police academy in January. So that means my first winter in Wyoming he will be gone for three months of it. I am already starting to dread it, but just want it to be over with. Annalee and I will have a lot of time together in our big house. There is a wood burning stove in our house and Kenny was worried about that, HELLO doesn't he know I grew up in Eagar and I made a fire every morning. I am really excited for the fire place...not excited for Kenny to be six hours away in an academy.

My sister Michelle had her baby boy, Jett. She is in Alaska so I haven't go to see her and the new baby. I'm sad about that, but glad they are doing good. Jeremy and Echelle are having another girl ---isn't that fun, Michelle all boys and Jeremy all girls. Then Shane and Jennifer are having a baby, we are all just waiting to see what they will have! Needless to say our family is growing, I feel so far from them but love em to death.

Every night as I lay in bed falling asleep I think about Christmas. Christmas decorations, Christmas presents, Christmas spirit, Christmas tree. I even listened to Christmas music yesterday and today in church the little girl in front of me was reading the words to all the Christmas hymns during the Sacrament, so I of course was singing along in my head. I can't wait...

This for That

2009-09-01T07:36:00.000-07:00

Well it's true, you do things you never thought you would do when you have a family. Kenny has owned his mercedes since we started dating. It was always so fun to go on dates in such a nice car. Kenny really did love this car and took great care of it, but in an effort to lower bills and get a nice house, he sold this to my brother.

But don't worry, we replaced it with something even better in his opinion! We didn't need another car, after getting rid of the mercedes we still had three cards between the two of us. But while shopping for a camper we found this great deal for only $300. So say hello to the newest member of our family. We don't have a name for her yet, any ideas???

And for those of you wondering, YES we take this out on dates every so often. I have got to get a pictures of us in it, it is hilarious.

2009-08-07T18:06:00.000-07:00

Enough said....she is perfect

Letting the Spitting and Chewing Begin

2009-07-28T13:56:00.000-07:00

Annalee has found that she has extra saliva and has really enjoyed spitting it, making bubbles, and just letting it run down her chin. I keep telling her that proper girls don't do that, but she finds it very fascinating. And so yes, it means that ALL things are finding their way to her mouth. Even the "stinger" of her little bug. I sure hope she doesn't think she can put a real stinger in her mouth. Check out her manipulation of her lips so she can fit the foot in her mouth.

I'm sure in the next month or so we will post about a little tooth:)

Fourth of July Trip

2009-07-13T20:58:00.001-07:00

She is soooo cute!

I was crazy again and decided I could take my four month baby on a 12 hour car ride by myself to Arizona. SHE WAS PERFECT! Kenny had to work and I had just finished the school year so it was party time. We drove to Eagar, helped my mom move (I think we were more in the way), painted and cleaned my Grandma's house, and enjoyed the Fourth of July.

Most of you know the Fourth of July is my second favorite holiday...it really is Christmas in summer for me. The parade was great, the luncheon was wonderful complete with the traditional homemade rootbeer, and the fireworks were impressive. We didn't make it to the rodeo cause I was exhausted. It was so great to see so much family and even some friends. I sure miss Arizona and all my family there, but it is nice to be home in Wyoming!

Here are a few pictures of Annalee...thanks to Adrian Nef. I think he took over 200, but I haven't got them all yet...I'm telling you she is perfect. Everyone that comes in contact with her says she is the happiest baby and absolutely beautiful, she is an angel.

Growing up I always loved sitting on my Grandma's front porch and watch the people drive up and down the road, in fact I think most of the Eagar's do (we get it from Grandma and Grandpa)...Annalee insisted on sitting out there at least twice a day - here is proof!

Serioulsy life doesn't get any better than this!

Who Honk Me and Raising Hands

2009-06-19T20:38:00.000-07:00

Yeah it's summer time! I am so glad to be done with work until August 10th! Annalee even let me sleep in until 6:15 this morning...I love summer. I've been busy packing up the "renter house" and finishing school. We will be headed to Arizona in a couple of days to spend some time with Michelle and the boys before they leave, help my mom move into her new house that she grew up in (we are all so excited for her to be in Grandma/Grandpa's house), and of course attend the 4th of July activities.

I just want to thank Aunt Whitney for being the best live-in-nanny in the whole world. It was so nice having her watch Annalee while I had to work. They are so close and I know they will have a special bond FOREVER. We both love you Aunt Whit!

It has been different having Kenny work four days out of town. He sure does love his little girl! This picture is horrible of us all, don't ask! We don't have many pictures of all of us...hopefully that changes.

And now the bragging corner...yes, I've become one of THOSE MOMS! Annalee is the most perfect baby, she really is. She weighs 16 pounds and is 25 inches long and she is only four months. Our Doctor told us that she is a very good looking baby and that her attention span is far above her age...I'm telling you she is brilliant. She loves to study the world and read books. The other day we were on the side of the road feeding her and big trucks were driving by, I was telling her that if you move your arm up and down the truck drivers will honk. I showed her how to do it and she did it once by herself...of course I know she had no idea what she was doing but I can't wait until all these trucks start honking at me and it's because she is in the back seat moving her arm up and down. (who honk me...those...{inside joke}) The pictures don't do her justice but here are a few...

Annalee loves to hold her arm straight up in the air. I have even caught her doing this when she is sleeping. If you try to put it down she throws it right back up. I think she is just learning how to behave for school...I like to ask her is she has a question...she just smiles and keeps her hand in the air. It's really funny.

Welcome Summer!

2009-05-22T12:38:00.000-07:00

So obviously it has been awhile since I've posted. Things have been good and busy...as it is for everyone. We moved out of our house, which was actually really sad, moved into a renter, and are still in the process of seeing what will be best for a new home. Kenny has been working four / tens in Evanston so that has been a little hard on our family. I only have two and a half weeks of school and can't wait for it to be done!

Annalee is getting so big. She looks and acts like a 5-7 month old instead of 3 months old. Oh great, does that mean she will be acting like she is 16 when she is only 12! She recognizes who people are now and she smiles ALL the time. She has found that she can make noises and I have to admit that I think they are sooo cute. She is getting into a great routine and sleeps pretty good at night. I couldn't have a better baby. I took her to an after school meeting and one of the guy teachers (we all know guys don't really care that much about cute babies) said to me that she was the most perfect baby he has seen and that she should be the next gerber baby. I was a proud mom! I was laying down with her and noticed how huge her belly is!

We are going to Bear Lake this weekend so I had to try on her swimsuit.

I love her!

Jazz Moving Easter Wedding

2009-04-19T13:37:00.001-07:00

Where do I begin. This past month has been a whirlwind...really it has. I'm sure I will forget a lot of things, but I only have a second to post before Annalee wakes up.

Annalee went to her first Utah Jazz game. The tickets to the game were a stocking stuffer and we have been looking forward to going for four months. Unfortunetly Kenny had to work (more on this later), so Whitney stepped in and went with us. Annalee had a cute pink Utah jazz sweater...of course!We had a lot of fun and I'm sure Annalee is going to be a ball player:)

So Kenny applied to be a police officer in Evanston Wyoming. Of course "with the market the way that it is", a lot of people applied. After a long month of PT testing, interviews, and background checks, Kenny was hired!!! This is something he has always wanted to do. We were so blessed for him to get the job. In fact I think I was so excited about it that I lost track of what the reality of it meant. He was to start right away and I still had my contract to finish with my school...so that meant a lot of time apart. Then what would we do with our house? Where would we live in Evanston? What would I do about my job? Could we afford to live off Kenny's salary alone? Well...here is the short of what happened and it happened QUICKLY.

Whitney and I were driving home one day and I saw a house that had flyers about their home being for sale. I had Whitney hurry and jump out and get a flyer so I could see what the house was going for. We called the realtor, who was out on vacation, so we talked to one of his co-workers. We ended up meeting with this realtor and put our house up for sale. We were busy cleaning, painting, and getting the house ready to hopefully be shown to some clients. For any of you who have lived in a house for awhile while it has been for sale I don't know how you do it...I was exhausted from just trying to keep it clean. Well in three days we had our first customers and they made an offer on the house. After some negotiations, it was a done deal and we are under contract and plan to close on the house on April 28th. We now have to pack up and move into an apartment in two weeks! Now I'm even more exhausted thinking about it!! We have looked at a few homes in Evanston, but nothing has captured both our eyes...stay tuned, the adventure of buying a house is going to be a big one!

Then Shane got married. Whitney, Annalee, and I made the treck to Eagar. Wow that was fun...a ten hour drive with a little baby. Well I made the drive back to Utah by myself with Annalee. The 10 hour drive became a 16 hour drive. Talk about some mom and baby bonding time in the back of the car on the side of the road in the middle of nowhere! Shane's wedding was great and we love Jennifer. They both looked so beautiful. It was great to be with family! We love and miss you all already.

Meeting Granny and Papa Slade.

Meeting Uncle Derek!

The new couple! Aren't they beautiful people! This was the dinner the night before the wedding.

As if the wedding wasn't enough..it was Easter. YEAH Annalee's first Easter. You can tell how excited she is to be coloring Easter eggs. Maybe next year!

Okay Noah was hilarious with Annalee. He kept playing with her, checking on her, and even gave her a bath. I gave him the special duty of "babysitter", for a little boy he was the BEST babysitter ever. This is him taking pictures of Annalee...yes he did this one by himself. Look how happy Annalee is to be playing with him, but don't ask me what face he is pulling. Not only is he a good babysitter, he is a great photographer. This kid has a big future!

Although my mom is pulling a funny face in this picture. She was absolutely stunning at the wedding. She had the cutest brown polk-a-dot dress. So did Tammi, so we had them take a picture together. My mother is beautiful!

It was nice having Spring Break and now I must return to work. I think it is going to be harder on me then it was to go back to work before Spring Break. I don't know what it is, but I love this girl more and more...for you mothers that have ever rocked your child and just gazed in amazement during the entire time your child is taking a nap you know what I mean. It doesn't get any better. Stay tuned for more adventures. They are sure to come. I love it. Love it all!

Kenny's Birthday, Trip to Phoenix, and 1 Month Old!

2009-03-20T08:10:00.000-07:00

We have been busy. I'm just going to touch on a few highlights and post pictures. I know you want to look at the pictures more anyway!

*Last Friday (3/13) was Kenny's birthday. He spent the day snowboarding with his friend and brother and then we went to dinner with his family. It was a lot of fun. We love you Kenny and hope you had a great birthday! You are amazing in every way. See Whitney's blog for pictures of the night (sorry I don't have them!) http://www.whitneylees lade.blogspot.com/ Actually see Whitney's blogs for a lot of great pictures that I don't have!

*Saturday morning we flew out to Phoenix to visit family. It was WONDERFUL. Annalee did great on the plane ride, but is having some troubles getting back into her schedule. Here are just 5 things from the trip to Phoenix:
1. Annalee meeting all her Slade side Aunts, Uncles, and cousins - minus Derek :(
2. Annalee meeting Grandma Smith and other Aunts, Uncles, and cousins from Kendra's family

3. Eating a lot of great food
4. The weather...we didn't have to bundle Annalee up...it was sooo nice!

5. Getting to spend time with Kenny, it seems when we are home we are both so busy.

*Annalee is a month old. She has changed so much. I love her, I love her, I love her. Whitney and her friend Adrian were here yesterday and so we used his nice camera to take a ton of pictures. Here are just a few. Enjoy.

2009-03-18T18:22:00.000-07:00

Annalee is now three and a half weeks old. Time is flying by and she has changed so much. One of Whitney's friends is coming to take pictures of her tomorrow so I will make sure I post them so you can all see how much she has changed...but for now these are some of the pictures I have of her. Notice in the picture with the hands her cute braclet. I love dressing her up!

Welcome Annalee West!

2009-02-24T07:21:00.000-08:00

Annalee West was born on Saturday, February 21st at 8:09 am. She weighed 7 pounds 12 ounces and was 21 inches long. She is absolutely beautiful...a perfect little girl. Due to some complications and my body not being ready to have a baby, we had a c-section. Both mom and baby are doing great and are expected to go home tomorrow (Wednesday). We can't get enough of her and just love everything she does!

2009-02-23T18:45:00.001-08:00

Photobucket Album

Phantom

2009-02-15T15:50:00.000-08:00

Above are some FUN pictures of the trip my mom, Whitney and I took to Las Vegas to see

Phantom of the Opera.

This was my birthday present from Kenny and his family!

We had a blast.

Tree Lot, Fire Station, Baby Shower, Christmas...

2009-01-07T18:15:00.000-08:00

Well here is a quick update on the West family... We are finished with the Christmas tree lot!!! YEAH. Kenny worked really hard and we were fortunate to not lose any money. Kenny is wanting to do it again next year, with two lots of course. It was hard enough on me being pregnant, but next year we will have a little baby...we will see what happens.

During December I went to the Highlands Fire Station 25 Open House. It was so fun to see some of my old friends and visit the new station. It brought back a lot of memories. I will always love Flagstaff and my friends there, especially those at Highlands Fire.

After the Fire Station Open House I rushed to Eagar for my baby shower. It was so nice and fun. My sisters and mom spent so much time and a lot of effort to make it so wonderful. It was such horrible weather, but my family came anyway! I sure love you all and thank you so much for the many gifts. I can't wait to use them all.

Christmas was awesome for us this year. We were able to see most of both our families. My mom, Whitney, Shane, Jennifer, and Jaycee came (as well as a surprise guest friend of Whitneys - Darrick). Having them here was the BEST Christmas present. The Christmas Eve Party was at our house with both the Wests and Slades...wow there were a lot of people at our house. We ate great food and had so much fun! We ended the night by going to Temple Square and looking at the lights. Shane proposed to Jennifer and we are so excited for the both of them. We love Jennifer and her sweet little girl Jaycee. I seriously went through depression when they all left.

Then to top it off, Kenny and his family got me tickets to Phantom of the Opera for my birthday. Plus they got a ticket for my mom to come....so Whitney and my mom made the treck and met me in Las Vegas for the weekend. Phantom was AMAZING! I can't begin to describe how wonderful it was. We were on the fourth row and almost center!!! It was great to share some time with my mom and Whitney. I wish Michelle, Echelle, and Jennifer could have come too...but now I know what fun girls trip to do next!

I'm back at work until the baby comes and Kenny is working like crazy. He and I started on the baby's room. I got most of the painting done and I think it is really cute. We are just counting down the days and waiting for the next little phase.... A BABY GIRL!

Christmas Tree Lot

2008-10-25T07:13:00.000-07:00

we are doing a Christmas tree lot! we are so excited and i'm already in the Christmas spirit. we have a great location and at least 400 trees coming our way. we've been busy getting licenses, trees, accessories, business cards, flyers, and you name it. kenny and his friend brandon have been working hard. i'm really excited to pick out the first tree for my house and decorate it. i'm sure we will have great stories to share from "The Christmas Tree Express".

proposing...plan b

2008-06-19T20:44:00.000-07:00

kenny and i had talked about marriage. we both knew it was just right, but i have to say that it was still all a surprise.

kenny flew to arizona for my birthday (december 26th) and we were able to spend the next week together. we stayed in arizona for a few days, then we drove back to utah. his family had planned on staying at the homestead in utah, which was a lot of fun and wonderfully beautiful. we were in evanston wyoming for new years eve, i know sounds exciting huh...well it was very exciting...

kenny had been bothering me about going snowboarding on new years day. i was not at all excited about it. the west family is really good at snowboarding and i am not, plus i am not a huge fan of being cold...they all wouldn't leave me alone about going snowboarding. i told kenny if he wanted to go that i of course would go with him.

on new years eve we were at his sister kimber's house. before i knew it, only kenny's brother-in-law, jeremy, and i were left in the front room watching the time square count down. i knew something was! i could hear kenny chatting in the kitchen with his mom and sisters - that is never a good sign.

they all came into the room and kenny asked if i wanted to go. i thought he didn't want to kiss me in front of his family...haha. so we went to a park. it was absolutely freezing. we got out and skated around on the frozen lake and then warmed backed up in the car. when it was midnight we got out to watch the fireworks and before i knew it he was on his knee - in the snow - and he proposed. i was so shocked that the first thing i did was take a few steps away from him!!! haha

of course there was a lot more 'mushy' stuff that went along with the proposing, but we will keep that between kenny and myself.

now why i say this was plan b was because he wanted to propose while we were snowboarding. he wanted to wait until the last run of the day, when i was all tired. while we were on the lift he was going to drop a box that looked like the wedding ring box. we were going to have to snowboard down and find it somehow in the trees and snow. i'm really glad he went with plan b!

we were both so excited and we spent the rest of the night informing family and just enjoying being engaged!

meeting, hiking, and dating

2008-06-18T20:10:00.000-07:00

here is the beginning of our story, and the rest is yet to come...kenny and i seem to have a few details which we disagree on; however, this is the jest of it from my side.

kenny and i met in 2005 in flagstaff arizona. at the time, i was living with his sister kristen (formely known as krissy) while attending northerna arizona university. kristen came home after a weekend in utah all excited about some network marketing thing. i didn't really understand, but she would lay awake all night telling me how we were going to be rich. krissy was holding a big network marketing meeting and kenny was coming from salt lake city to do the meeting. she kept saying that i had to meet him and hang out with him. i went to the meeting and didn't really stay too long. kenny later called and asked if i would go to breakfast with him the next morning. well to make a long story short i didn't go.

we kept in touch very little for the next few years - he was in salt lake and i was in flagstaff. kristen mentioned him a lot, and kenny says that he was chasing me for all those years. he said that he liked me from the first time we met. i guess i was stubborn and i now admit that i made a mistake.

in september 2007 my aunt anna and uncle troy had their two adopted children sealed to them in the salt lake temple. my aunt lana, cousins jamie and jana, my mom, my sister michelle and i made the treck to utah. kristen was once again my roommate and insisted that kenny and i hang out. i decided it would be fun, even though we were only in salt lake for less than 24 hours.

kenny picked me up and we went driving up some canyon. we started hiking up a mountain that supposedly when you get to the top you see the whole salt lake valley. now lets catch up on a few things, kenny was just in a pretty serious car accident the day before, his head still had the staples and he was really sore. it was now 10 pm and i had just driven all day to get to salt lake, and i had to be up around 4:30 am to go to the temple. i would say not the most optimal situation for sparks and romance. so we got to the top of the mountain and we discovered we were on the wrong mountain. there was absolutely no scenic view of the salt lake valley, in fact we just saw another huge mountain. we laughed all the way down the hill. when i got back to the hotel room my mom asked how the date went, i told her that it wasn't a date and we were great friends, but that i had never laughed so much. i said that my face was still hurting from smiling. (in fact almost every day i have to stop and relax my face because he is making me laugh so hard)

well that was the beginning of the end. we luckily got to see each other a couple of times in the next few weeks )with a lot of setting up from krissy) and one night after talking on the phone for over 4 hours i realized i was falling for him. although we were far apart, we decided to date exclusively and see how it would all work out. we spent thanksgiving together with his family in rocky point and things were going well and heating up!