We're having a BABY!

Malone and I have finally decided to start our family! As of today I am 12 weeks pregnant. We found out about 4 weeks ago. I am due October 20th, which I am excited about. I think we were both in shock for about a week, even though we were planning on this pregnancy. It's just crazy that it's happening now. I have been lucky with this pregnancy so far, I haven't had any problems really. I've had the normal breast tenderness, tired a lot, and some nausea, but other than that no problems at all.

what?!!

People have already been asking what I think this baby will be. Malone hopes for a boy. I wouldn't mind having a boy first, but I don't care either way as long as it's healthy of course. I have a good feeling that it is going to be a boy, but we won't know for sure for another 2 months.

First ultrasound



12 Weeks

 

I'm not going to lie. I feel dumb taking pregnancy photos already because I've always been a little heavy, so what may look like a bump is actually most likely just me not baby right now lol. Anyway, we told our families the good news on Easter, March 31. Malone and I put together some easter egg baskets for our parents filled with eggs and candy. One egg had the ultrasound in it, so when they opened up that egg they got a big surprise! It was really fun to finally tell everyone our news. I told everyone at work within the next week. Now everyone knows! I signed up on whattoexpect.com to find out how my baby is growing each week. This week it's about the size of a large plum. I am already surprised at how fast it is growing! Tomorrow I have another Dr. appointment, so I will be excited to see how things are going. 

Trials and Blessings

Malone and I have been so very blessed that it seems like when any little bump in the road comes along it feels like a big deal. Sounds dramatic doesn't it? I guess we're spoiled. I knew when 2013 came around that this was going to be a year of "change". There will be some big changes this year in our family. Malone will be graduating in July, after which Malone will hopefully find a job which means we'll eventually be moving, which could be the first time I've ever lived more than 15 minutes from my home I grew up in. I'll have to quit my jobs, one of which I've had for nearly 6 years. We'll have to sell or rent out our house too. And so far, each of the things I've mentioned are also things we are struggling with.

Malone is trying to figure out a school schedule so that he can graduate this semester. Two of the four classes he needs are overlapping so he's had to make some adjustments to his grad plan, which requires approval. BYU-I is all about making their students jump through hoops. And we're hoping his schedule will work out so he can work too. As for Malone finding work after he graduates, we haven't found anything yet. But we're still waiting and praying something works out.

I've been struggling with work for a few different reasons. While I am grateful to have work, I really work alot. I don't really have a life outside of it. While I do like everyone I work with, I am struggling to find patience with some. It has required me to adjust and change my way of dealing with things and learn to communicate better, which isn't necessarily a bad thing I suppose. But it is exhausting and frustrating sometimes.

As for our house, long story short, the new townhouses they're building around us are selling for alot less than we owe on our house, which sucks. So when we go to sell our house, we'll have to sell it for much less than what we owe on it or rent it out for a while. We haven't decided what to do yet.

I don't want to sound like I'm complaining. I'm not. I'm just stating the facts. And the fact is, these "trials" are just a little bump in the long run. On the upside, since we've started worrying about all these "troubles", it has brought us closer together. We've been more regular about reading scriptures and having family prayer together. I find that we are working together more on coming up with resolutions to our problems. And we are excited to begin a new chapter to our lives together. Whatever comes our way I feel confident that we will be able to handle it together. I am thankful that we have good parents and siblings who are good examples of how a marriage should be. And I'm thankful that Malone and I were raised in the church so that we can enjoy the blessings we recieve from being a part of it. And through the trials we are having, I can see how Heavenly Father is so aware of us and is guiding us. I know that when we reach the other end and look back at this time in our lives, we'll see how Heavenly Father brought us closer together and how he blessed us in ways we may not have even realized. I know that we just need to continue to be faithful and obedient and everything will turn out right in the end.

2012 Family Pictures

 

 

Thanks Natalie for taking our pictures! www.excursionphotography.com

Malone

             Malone started back up in school the second week of September. Since school has started, Malone has had to once again balance his time more with schoolwork, his job, and spending time with me and our little pups. With careful consideration and countless hours of frustration,  we've figured out a Grad Plan and we're hoping to get him graduated by July 2013. He'll have to go year round to finally get done, which will require him getting on Fast Grad. Fast Grad allows students to take classes full time all year around as opposed to just 2 semesters a year. Recently, Malone has struggled trying to get the school to accept his Grad Plan and let him be on fast track because he's over on his credits. At BYU-I they're all about squeezing as many students in as possible and then pushing them out as soon as possible. They are very strict about how many credits you accumulate and once you get to a certain amount, (which is 120 I think) they practically force you to graduate. They'll give you about 20 more credits leniency, but Malone will be 6 credits over that when he graduates. So the school was having a cow about it of course. Sometimes the way BYU-I handles things frustrates us both, but we manage. Even though it was a pain figuring all that out, Malone was accepted for Fast Grad!! Yay!! The only problem now is trying to help Malone figure out a schedule with his classes he needs to graduate. Next semester is going to be a problem because many of the classes he needs gets in the way of his work schedule. Right now we're not sure how he's going to be able to do both. The whole reason Malone has been working 30 hours a week is because we get our health insurance through his job, which has been a huge blessing since Malone has met our deductible with his knee surgery this year. We'll be losing part of our income and our health insurance if he doesn't work. Not to mention, the grant Malone got this year was tiny (it didn't even cover tuition), we aren't sure how we're going to pay for Malone's last two semesters of school.
      Then, just a week ago, I was asked to work more hours for my Broulims job. I was able to stop working at Mobley's on Wednesdays and work at the accounting office instead (which is good because Broulim's pays more and they give raises!). I was excited because not only does that help a little with our income, but it's one step closer to me being eligable for benefits, which would allow Malone to either work less hours or quit completely. I have to have an average of 30 hours for 12 weeks in order to qualify and I'll be about 24 with just the accounting and  about 3.5 hours average doing posters. Not quite enough right now, but there's potential. I just need one more day during the week doing accounting and that'll be enough. We'll just have to see how things pan out and hope for the best.

Birthday, Anniversary, Reunion week!

The weekend of my birthday Malone and I planned a little camping trip just the two of us! Friday night (Aug. 17th ) we borrowed my parent's trailer and drove up to Island Park. We pulled into a spot with lots of trees and it was very private! We realized after we got settled in that when we came into the camp site we had bumped the bottom of the trailor on a little hill coming in. There was a little damage, and we both felt so bad! We didn't realize that the trailor tilted that low with the hitch on our truck. The hitch is usually fitted for my parents suburban, which sits lower than our truck. Anyway, the next day we headed out to see Yellowstone Park. I have only been to Old Faithful and have never seen the rest of the park. We spent the day visiting Yellowtone Grand Canyon and Mammoth Hot Springs. After visiting the park, we hurried over to Playmill to see "The Drowsy Chaperone". I love visiting the playmill. The play was hilarious and Malone and I both had a great time! Sunday Malone and I watched a movie and hung out most of the morning. Then we went and spent the day with Malone's parents at the range in West Yellowstone. We had dinner, visited, played games, and had birthday brownies and ice cream. I asked Malone's stepdad Eric if he'd let me shoot one of the guns at te range. So, I ended up shooting an uzzi machine gun! It was a little scary at first, but I was surprised how easily managable it was! I had a blast! Malone got to shoot too. Eventually Malone and I left so we could pack up camp. We had planned on meeting my family at Broulim's cabin in Island Park for a little "family reunion".  Unfortunately we were unable to pull the trailer out of the campsite due to the hill we hit on the way in.  So my dad had to come up with the suburban to pull it out.

    That night we made it to the cabin around 9 or 10. Everyone sang happy birthday and we had birthday cinnamon rolls. Yummy! Everyone in my family was able to come and we had such fun together. The Broulim's cabin was huge and beautiful! There's 11 bedrooms and 7 bathrooms and a theater room! We had lots of stuff to do like ping pong, canoing, 4wheeling, riding in the razors, and air hockey. At night a bunch of us would play Sardines (hide and seek). It was so much fun and we were all up so late every night. Chris and I brought our guitars and he showed me a few chords and we played alot. I've had a guitar forever, but never really learned how to play. I only know a few chords. It's on my bucket list to learn. Malone and I canoed and rode the razors during the few days we were there. One day AJ had put together a big "Minute to Win It" game. We all split into teams and played games for a couple hours. The kids had a good time, and we all had a good laugh. I'm pretty sure mom and dad got plenty of videos.  It was a fun three days. By day three Malone and I had been gone about 5 days and were ready to go home. I missed our dogs! We had left them at a friends house while we were off on our little vacation. They had a good time running around the yard while we were gone.

The next day was our 4 year anniversary. Since we had taken all that time off for the reunion, we didn't get to go anywhere like we had originally planned. So that night after work we just went to dinner at Olive Garden. Hopefully we can get some time off for our 5 year anniversary next year; that is if no one schedules a reunion that week (which has happened for the last like 3 years in a row).

Obsessed!

My family will confirm the fact that I am obsessed with animals... especially dogs. It's true. And looking back, I can honestly say that I have always been this way. Since I was a kid, I would draw pictures of dogs all the time. I remember filling the entire wall of my room with pictures I drew of dogs. I use to pause "101 Dalmations" on the TV, and try and draw the dog characters. I checked out books at the library that taught me to draw dogs and other animals. I even read books about dogs, like "Hank the Cowdog".  Growing up we had an encyclopedia program on our old computer that I'd get onto and look at pictures of all kinds of dog breeds and basically memorize it. I still remember many breeds because of it. I collected small glass figurines of dogs that I kept in a case and hung on my wall. I use to write/ illustrate homemade books, one of which I do recall including two dogs who solved the mystery of the missing crown. We had a few dogs growing up; Barney, Expo, Missy, and Bart. They were all outside dogs, all of which had either died, ran away, or were given away. Then came Riley.

In 1996 on my 10th birthday I got my first very own puppy, a black cockapoo. I cried when I saw him. I was sooooo happy! I named him Riley, after a dog I saw in a movie (I think it was Homeward Bound, Lost in San Fransisco ). I loved my dog. He use to sleep in my room with me. He was my buddy. I'm pretty sure my mom trained him and took care of him more than I did, but no one loved him more than I did. Fast forward about 13 years. In 2009 Riley got really sick and I had to make the decision to put him down. Most painful choice I've ever had to make. I can't think about that dog now without tearing up. It probably seems silly that a person can get so attached to an animal that way. I don't think anyone in my family feels like that about animals like I do, except maybe my little brother Parker. It's always been such a soft spot for me. Anyway, I vowed I'd never get another dog because I just didn't think I could go through the pain of losing one again.

Tulio and Tivo, the first day we got them.

In 2010, Malone and I adopted 2 Miniature Pinscher puppies, Tulio and Altivo. We named our dogs after characters in the dreamworks movie "El Dorado". I must have been crazy to adopt not just one, but two puppies, all at once. It only took 4 weeks of that and I decided to sell one of them to a nice family because two puppies at once is really hard. I still feel bad about giving Tulio up, because he was such a good dog, and beautiful too!  We kept Altivo and still have him now.  Altivo is two and half years old now. Three words to describe Altivo: shy, fast, and sweet. He is very loyal to me and Malone, and doesn't really warm up to strangers easily. He's always suspicious of them. He loves to run... run really fast. He's run away from me several times, and he is gone in a flash. I hate it when he does that. His next favorite thing to do is sleep in our bed. He burrows deep under the covers clear to the bottom of the bed. Tivo is by far the sweetest little dog ever. Only those who have earned Tivo's approval know that he loves to snuggle. He just wants to be with you wherever you are. He is very affectionate, and sensitive. Even raising your voice a little bit affects him. He thinks he's one of the big dogs. He likes to play with our neighbor's Great Dane, Diesel. (hilarious!) He loves going for walks and rides in the car too. One time Malone and I took him on a trip to Utah with us. We stayed at a dog-friendly hotel and everything. He traveled so well with us!

Altivo about 5 months old

Tivo finds warm places to sleep, including between my legs.

Tivo's lips got stuck over his teeth. Perfect picture moment.

Tivo sleeps in funny positions sometimes.

What a sweetie! I love him!



Kayto is about 7 or 8 weeks here

Malone had been begging for a Doberman for I don't know how long, and I just couldn't imagine trying to take care of 2 dogs with the crazy schedule we have right now. But, I saw this little face and I couldn't say no! We picked up Kayto this May (2012) from a breeder in Idaho Falls. Kayto is a red purebred Doberman. We got his name from a character in the Hunger Games. We left his ears uncropped so he'd look less intimidating, plus I think he looks so cute with floppy ears. He's barely 5 months old now, and weighs about 50lbs. We expect him to grow to about 80 lbs as an adult. Yes, he'll be big. Three words to describe Kayto: smart, good tempered, and playful.  I always knew that Dobermans were smart, but I was pleasantly surprised how fast he learns! I can teach him simple tricks in a day. Others take a little longer, but he's picking them up.  For example, he learned to sit/ lay down in a day. Going for a walk without dragging me along behind him, has taken much longer. He's getting better all the time though. House training has gone pretty well too. It didn't take more than a couple weeks for him to learn to whine at the door when he needed to go out. Not bad considering we adopted him at 6 weeks! He's only had maybe one or two accidents in the last couple weeks; he's still learning to hold it. He is very curious and will watch you when you do things. When you look at him you can see the wheels turning in his head, almost like you can tell what he's thinking. Even though Kayto is young, I can already tell he'll be a really good tempered dog. Puppies are naturally very energetic and playful ( or what I like to call ADHD), and even vocal sometimes. But Kayto, he's different. He's pretty quiet and calm most of the time, especially when he's had plenty of exercise.  Him and Tivo will play it up and rough house a bit, but I think it's because he's still a puppy. Kayto warms up to strangers really well, when introduced properly. He does have guarding instincts and will bark at people who are walking around our house, naturally. But once he's met you, he likes you. It's nice to have a dog who likes people, and kids! All our friends love him, and they will bring people over to meet him sometimes. And of course, Kayto is playful! Sometimes he'll just stand there and bark at Tivo to play with him... Tivo is just annoyed with him most of the time. Can't blame him really, Kayto has alot of energy. Kayto loves to run with you outside. I can see him being a good running buddy whenever I decide to start running. He's learning to fetch (he has a short attention span so it's usually a short game), and absolutely loves playing in water. Sometimes when I take Kayto for a walk, we'll run through sprinklers. 

Kayto 5 months



Look at that face! And his nose looks huge!

I love our dogs. I love all dogs just about. And our neighborhood is FULL of them. All sorts of breeds, shapes, and sizes. It's so fun to see when we're out walking.  Over the years I've spent hours watching programs about dogs or reading about them. I'm sure I've bored many people to death just talking about them. I forget that not everyone is passionate about dogs like I am, haha. So if you're still reading this, bravo! I'm shocked! So as you can see, I am obsessed with dogs. I will always love them. I'll probably always be willing to talk about them. The best thing about being a dog owner is that it becomes a natural ice breaker with people. I can be walking my dog, and someone will stop us and want to meet me and my dog and strike up a conversation. Or a customer/patient where I work mentions their dog it's an instant connection, something we can chat about. This love that I have for dogs might be an obsession, or maybe a gift of some sort. But it's been a big part of my life, and I love it.



So, I'd just like to say Hi, my name is Danielle, and I'm an obsessed dog lover.

I love you Independence Day!

Fourth of July is by far my absolute favorite holiday. The weather is beautiful and warm, you spend time with your friends, family, neighbors, you go to parades, community events,  fireworks, bbqs, eat fresh summer fruit, you can go spend all day out in the sunshine... it just doesn't get any better than that!

This year I volunteered to reserve a spot at the parade in Rexburg for my family. Unfortunately, Malone couldn't come because he had to work, so I went to reserve a spot alone. I got to Porter Park at 9 (an hour before the parade) and there was no curb that wasn't reserved on the whole route! Unbelievable! So I snagged a shady spot at Porter Park and waited until everyone got there. Mom and Parker showed up at about 10, and then Chris and Natalie and their family, and Tiffany and the boys, and Ashley and AJ all trickled in throughout the parade. I had fun playing with my 5 month old nephew Sam, whom I adore! I think I missed half the parade because I was mezemerized by those baby blues! And I took about a dozen pictures of him too. Anyway, lucky for us our shady spot was shady almost the entire duration of the parade, which is a first. I think we usually end up sitting in the sun at parades. After the parade, I went and picked up Malone from work and we went to lunch at Costa Vida. After lunch, I went home and spent some time with the dogs until Malone got home. We hung out for a couple hours and then went with our friends Jared and Kami Clark to a BBQ at their parents house in Rigby. The Clarks had a fenced in backyard, and were nice enough to let us bring our dogs to play. So Kami and Jared brought their black lab, Tab, and our neighbor's Great Dane, Diesel, and we took our Doberman, Kayto and Min Pin, Altivo. The dogs had a blast running around the yard, especially Altivo. Jared's family seemed to enjoy having all the dogs there, and we had a blast playing with them all. We hung out, ate, talked, laughed, and just relaxed till about 9:30. We drove over to Jared's Grandma's house in Menan to watch the fireworks from her backyard. It was a great view, and we had lots of space to ourselves! Even though we had good seats, good company, and we avoided most of the traffic... I was still slightly bummed about missing the IF fireworks. They're the BOMB. Last year I said I had hoped we'd go to those this year, but it didn't happen haha. So I'll say it again, maybe next year!