Family Pictures

We decided to take advantage of the beautiful fall colors at the U of I arboretum and take family pictures. They turned out amazing! Thanks to Annie and her awesome skills, we had a great time and our kids "performed" wonderfully. Ada, at one point, hopped up on a bench and started posing. They were so fun and we loved being together as a family. Enjoy some of our favorites!

Grateful Moments

I am filled with gratitude this morning.
Andy and I woke up with Atticus to do our morning scripture study. We missed a lot of conference this year so we are re-watching those we missed. We cuddled while we watched and discussed the talk after it finished. I then went and sat on our nice comfy couch and heard our heater go on. The heaters in our place are in each room with their own thermostat. I flipped it on this morning without even thinking about it and heard the usual ticking sound it makes while heating up. All at once it hit me how blessed I am. I got a particularly large amount of sleep last night in my warm bed next to an incredible husband. I woke up to a wonderfully happy little boy and watched a conference talk on our computer using the internet. I had heat just by flipping a switch and cold orange juice from my fridge.
I have been having more of these gratitude moments recently. Another one was just Saturday. We had family pictures taken and it turned out better then hoped for. My busy husband took out time to come and spend time with us in the beautiful U of I Arboretum. The leaves on the trees were breath taking colors and our children behaved perfectly.
I hope to never over look all of my many blessings that my Heavenly Father gives us each day.

Naked

So funny! Ada is going through a naked stage and I can't seem to keep clothes on her. She doesn't mind getting dressed in the morning but she is usually already stripped of her PJs by the time breakfast is done. As long as she gets to pick her outfit, she'll wear it...until we get to a store or friends house. Once she gets comfortable, she just starts taking off her clothes-diaper included. This past week right before bed when I peek in to check on her, I have found her in her birthday with both sets of checks free for all to see. I have to laugh because its funny to randomly see a 2 year old streak across our living room or to slip into her room at night to find her only wearing her Sunday shoes. I always encourage clothes and immediately dress her if she does strip down to her beautiful skin, but I have to enjoy this stage just like all the others. She makes me laugh everyday and I can't wait to see what the next stage brings.

Our lives now

I know, I know. You thought we were all dead due to the inactivity on our blog. Well I am going to try and be better at keeping this updated since we don't really use facebook a ton and we have loved ones who don't have skype or facebook. So here are some fun updates:
Andy is in his last semester of Grad school and we can't wait till graduation. He is applying to jobs right now and we expect some interviews to start happening soon.
Atticus is almost walking! He turns 10 months on the 1st and is such a busy little man. He loves to pester his sister in a big way but they LOVE to play together. He also loves his reflection, typing on the computer, being the center of attention, playing `patty-cake, pinching and biting anything that moves, and getting snuggled.
AdaMarie is such a great kid! She is loving and kind and loves to dance and sing and play with her brother. She is learning to put words together which is super exciting. She is giving potty training another go and we are hoping it works this time round.
I am in full canning mode and love it. I love the fall and the wonderful changing of the seasons. I am ready to decorate for the coming holidays and look forward to all the crafts I have on my list. I love being at home with my kids and so lucky to have the option to do so.
Here are some fun photos and videos for your enjoyment.

Updates!

Things here have been busy. Ada is having the time of her life with all the fun things going on. We attend playgroup every week-sometimes twice a week and also like to go to story time at the local library. We used to walk to the park just down the street when the weather was better but have to keep inside for the most part these days. She loves it when daddy comes home to wrestle with her and chase her around the house. They are so cute together and I love that Andy comes home ready and willing to spend time with her. She LOVES it. They build forts where she gets lunch or stories read or just be under the blankets together. When I am not so huge I plan on joining the party. :) We have had a few friends of hers over which makes life much funner at our place and helps free up another mothers time to get some things done with out their little one under their feet. There are so many nice kids and moms around, we are so lucky.

I posted some pictures of Ada and her friend Emma, Ada in her hippo chair she got from grandma and grandpa (she LOVES it-she kisses it and everything), eating chicken off the bone, playing in the park, her favorite pass time of stacking anything that will stack-mostly PB, helping out with the sweeping, her finding and having SO much fun with a roll of toilet paper first thing in the morning, big smiles with daddy, Halloween as an elephant and Thanksgiving with some friends. We have been sooo blessed to be here at this time. 

We are just 12 days away from welcoming Atticus to our home and can not wait! Ada pats my tummy and sticks hers out to be like mine. She Loves to look at babies and will adjust just fine to having someone else in the family. At least we hope she will adjust well.

I have been nesting hard core lately and can''t wait to get the little one here. We have our house all rearranged just the way I want it with the pack n play all set up next to my bed. My mom's plane ticket is bought for next Sunday and will be here for a week to help out. Ada will love all the extra attention from her grandma and it will give me enough time to get back on my feet after the c-section. 

I have been super uncomfortable this last month and can't wait to get this baby out. Sleep is hard to come by and my hips are killing me, but the worst is just not fitting into any clothes! Nothing fits anymore and I hate feeling this huge. Andy is great and tells me I am beautiful every day. :) He loves me. :) 

I got a new wire put on my braces and it has been killing me all day. Whoever thought it would be a good idea to get braces on in your last bits of pregnancy was insane...and yes it was me. The only thing that helps with the pain is the one pain killer I can't have while pregnant. So mainly its going without food, and powering through the pain. Yuck. I do have to say that my teeth are looking quite straight and I love seeing the huge differences day to day.

We had a great Thanksgiving here in our home with some friends and can't wait to start our own little Christmas traditions this year. Happy Holidays!!

Old times and New beginings

Lots has happened since I last wrote on here. We were able to get into grad school up in Moscow, Id at U of I and so we tried to get everything done in Saratoga as far as sight seeing, before we left. Follow the pictures below (some of them are out of order-sorry). We first were visited by our friend Sam Bremmer and we decided to take him to Mt. Rushmore. It was a very close drive-just about 4 hours away and we got a cabin to stay in for the night before we went to all the monuments. We checked out the wind caves, Crazy Horse monument and then, for the main event, went to Mt. Rushmore. It is by far my favorite monument that I have seen yet. So impressive! I would recommend it to anyone looking for a great vacation stop. 

We then celebrated AdaMarie's 1st birthday with a pajama, pancake, princess party! We colored eggs (it was Easter) had breakfast and searched for our Easter baskets. Ada LOVED all the candy and presents she got. Then we took the 2 hour trip to Martin's Cove. What a cool trip that was. We were able to really appreciate what a lot of those pioneers went through on their journey due to having lived in the area. It really is a very sacred and very interesting place. Shortly after, we found out some very excited news involving an addition to the Newey family. We are expecting baby number two in December. :) We are very excited! 

After that we ended up moving to Weiser to spend the summer, before being able to move up to Moscow. We did the fiddle town camp ground again this summer for the fiddle fest. We had a lot of fun but I do believe this was our last year doing it. We met a lot of cool and crazy people and, as always, enjoyed the music. We met up with the rest of the Garrison's and did a family reunion which Ada LOVED. Playing with cousins is the best. We were also able to visit the Zoo and Ada did a great job feeding the goats little pellets-so brave.

Throwing in a trip to Portland where Andy ran a half marathon and enjoyed some beach time, we had a great summer. We have moved to Moscow and love it. Its so pretty and awesome and we are so excited to be here. 

feeding the goats

ready for church

playing with Penelopy

navigating

lots of time in the car

best ice cream ever!

our little princess

she bit right through that egg later...

yummy cotton candy

opening presents

first candy bar

decided she could drive on this road trip

new addition!

after the race!

beach fun!

summer fun!