wilde family

cookies cookies pie cookies

2011-04-21T14:08:00.001-05:00

we love living in arkansas. it finally feels like home to us.

we only wish family was closer.

so we sure love it when we get visitors.

grandma came and stayed for 6 days.

we ate well for those 6 days.

cake, cookies, creme brulee, cinnamon rolls and more

we did eat real food in there too. promise.

ainsley was in heaven being spoiled by grandma. all day long she kept saying cookie cookie cookie.

thanks grandma.

she loved having grandma around to play with and be silly with.

grandma is very silly.

we had the best 6 days of eating and playing and eating. i especially loved going on walks together before all the storms came. it was so fun having her here.

hopefully next time grandpa can come too.

what a big little girl

2011-04-16T13:57:00.002-05:00

ainsley is officially 18 months old now!

i'm so proud of my little girl.

she's got such a big personality and is such a sweetheart.

she's accomplished so much these past few months.

she has a HUGE vocabulary. its amazing.

she's very independent. she loves going to the park and going down the slides by herself.

she's starting using her potty this week too.

(i haven't been trying to potty train her....she just started saying she wanted to use her potty)

my favorite is she's starting nursery now.

i'm actually looking forward to going to relief society.

yup. i said it.

what a great 18 months it has been.

yes, ainsley is a mover and has lots of energy, but i dont think i'd want it any other way.

love you baby girl.

enjoying our long awaited vacation

2011-04-08T09:37:00.001-05:00

after all of duben's work madness we were in desperate need of a vacation.

as soon as we found out he got his new job we started planning a trip.

when we asked people about vacations around here people usually said either disneyworld or gulf shores. we're not quite ready for disneyworld and i miss the ocean terribly, so i was all about checking out the gulf...or the redneck riviera as some people say.

i'd never been to the gulf, and it was actually really nice.

it was just what we needed.

we rented a great condo which had the COOLEST pools ever.

we all LOVED the pool. there was a wave pool, a huge lazy river, and a great kid area with water slides. i lovedwatching ainsley go down the slides. the first day she was hesitant of them. every time she went down she cringed as she waited for the water to hit her. before long she was climbing up the stairs and going down them by herself. i was so proud!

she loved being in the water, so that made me happy.

we easily could have stayed at our condo for the whole time and been fine. we were by the beach though, so we had to check that out too.

i'm always curious of water temperature and wave size at other beaches.

once we arrived and set foot on the sand i was so happy.

i miss the beach so much. i love it.

ainsley....not so much.

dirty. it was all dirty to her.

logan wasn't a fan either.

we didn't stay long since the kids weren't quite cooperating. oh well.

it was an amazing trip. we were so glad katie and tyler could come with their cute kids. we made lots of yummy food and had fun just relaxing and catching up.

one of my favorite activities was having a rootbeer tasting to see who could do a blind tasting of all the different rootbeers and guess the brand. i didn't do so well. i actually preferred the walmart generic. who knew?

thanks katie and tyler for joining us on this last minute vacation. we had tons of fun. i know ainsley just loved being around you guys.

3 more months till the FFFFFFFFFFF!!!

so glad its over

2011-03-31T09:29:00.002-05:00

today was duben's last day at walmart.

im not sure i could say enough how happy i am.

so happy.

now, don't get me wrong, i do like walmart. it is a great company and duben and i both enjoyed our time there. he was just caught in the perfect storm of awfulness.

i didn't like the 60 hour work weeks and all the stress he had.

now its over!

he now is a consultant, which he's always wanted. the office is a 3 minute drive from home.

and the hours will be wonderful.

we are so excited.

even more exciting is we get a nice 10 day break before he starts his new job.

we are on our way to gulf shores, alabama and katie and tyler are meeting us there.

bring on the fun.

bust a move

2011-03-26T22:32:00.001-05:00

ainsley loves cars lately.

she especially loves sitting in the front seat of our car. she sits there and says, 'car car beep beep.'

then she discovered the radio, and the car became much cooler.

is she always like this?

2011-03-26T21:53:00.004-05:00

i've mentioned before ainsley has a lot of energy.

i love it.

i really do.

she's so much fun and is always energetic and laughing and being silly.

we have so much fun together.

i adore her personality.

its funny seeing other people around ainsley. without fail someone will always make some sort of comment.

is she always like this?

she sure has a lot of energy!

does she always have this much energy?

she just goes and goes doesn't she?

looks like you've got your hands full with that one.

yes, i know, she has a lot of energy. i'm her mom. I KNOW.

i recently took this picture of her sitting still...with her hands in her lap even.

its so cute to see, it actually makes me laugh seeing her like that.

i had to add the second shot which shows the 'real' ainsley.

i love my crazy little girl.

naps are for babies

2011-03-16T21:36:00.000-05:00

ainsley moved from 2 naps to 1 nap a day rather early. i wasn't such a fan of that transition, but as long as she gave me a few hours to myself i was good.

except her one nap continues to get shorter and shorter.

some days she doesn't nap at all.

what is the deal?!?!

she just goes and goes.

i can't complain too much because she's usually always happy and fun.

there's just too much fun stuff to do i guess.

sometimes she'll give in and she just stops. she'll just grab her blanket and go to sleep on the floor.

sometimes she'll wait till we're in the car to sleep.

and then my favorite when she's so tired and i can move her from the car to the cart.

go. go. gooooo.

2011-03-06T21:16:00.003-06:00

i love ainsley and all her energy.

i do.

promise.

i love each phase and how she's growing and developing

but...

just this once i want ainsley to be older...now.

i am counting down the sundays until they will let her go into nursery.

most moms are taking screaming children out of nursery.

mine is screaming to get in.

i helped substitute a few times and took ainsley with me. now every sunday she runs straight to the door and cries at the gates, toys toys toys.

so for now i chase her through the halls for two hours after sacrament. we tried going to relief society...that was just embarrassing. she just has too much energy to sit still or even stay in one area.

6 more weeks.

drink it up

2011-03-05T16:48:00.004-06:00

ainsley is definitely becoming more and more independent. its so cute watching her do things on her own.

she really wanted to drink by herself this morning and was just so proud of herself for doing it.

if only potty training was this easy....

it doesn't snow in arkansas

2011-02-09T16:34:00.003-06:00

when we moved to arkansas i was told it didn't really snow. maybe one storm might actually leave snow on the ground, but just for a day.

we have a few ice storms a year, but not snow.

i can deal with that....especially after living in rexburg.

this year was something totally different. we had back-to-back storms that left, not inches, but feet of snow! it was crazy. the whole city shut down.

it was fun for a bit. duben stayed home from work and we watched movies and ate lots of yummy food. ainsley got dressed up to go out....and then ended up hating the snow.

maybe next year she'll like it.

hopefully there isn't this much snow next year.

such a good helper

2011-02-07T16:10:00.000-06:00

i hate smelly things. hate them. i gag really easily.

as a mom, i'm always on diaper duty.

fun - no

smelly - yes

changing diapers is not my favorite thing, and i hate having them in the house.

one day after changing ainsley's diaper she picked it up and did this.

(put it through the cat door into the garage)

so proud.

smarty pants

2011-01-19T15:38:00.001-06:00

duben and i are proud parents. we are so amazed at how incredible ainsley is and how proud we are at the littlest things.

we were a little scared at first...i dont like the unknown. but i can honestly say that ainsley has exceeded all expectations.

i know i've said this all before, but she's just amazing.

i'm really enjoying this stage - minus the horrible tantrums.

she can actually communicate with us now. we'll say things and she understands and actually obeys! she's quite the talker too, and at 15 months she has a pretty good vocabulary. she's got down the basics...mommy-daddy-kitty-poop...the important ones. she also says football and cookies, which makes mommy proud.

we had her 15 month check-up today and the doctor told us she's advanced for her age.

i dont think i can take any credit for that, its all her. she's amazing.

i think as parents you just want a happy healthy baby, i'm just so grateful that she is.

the rest is just a bonus.

best christmas ever

2010-12-28T15:06:00.000-06:00

christmas for us this year was in hot-lanta with katie and tyler.

it was so much fun.

it was great being with them again - we miss you guys!

but even more fun was having mom & dad, jamie, ammon, and emmy, and topher! (we missed you m&m)

of course there was lots and lots and lots of yummy food and silliness.

it was so fun having ainsley see her cousins again. she loved being around them and especially loved when emmy would read to her. (emmy's going to be such a good big sister)

we did lots of shopping...ugh...and of course went to the coke world! and stuffed ourselves and maggiano's (thanks mom).

its so hard not having family close. i miss being around them and all the fun we have together. i'm so blessed to be part of such an amazing family.

sadly, christmas was on a saturday and duben had to be at work on monday. since our drive was long and ainsley doesn't like being tied down for long periods of time, we had to leave for home christmas day.

and this is where we spent christmas dinner....

waffle house in jasper, alabama

i dont know if you've ever been to a waffle house....its an experience. and this was definitely was. i wasn't brave enough to take any pictures of the people around us, but it was quite a show. they had the juke box going, and people would sing along....aloud...very loud. at one point the whole restaurant was singing 'picture' along with kid rock and sheryl crow.

it was actually a really good time.

new christmas tradition???

for you people with cute taste

2010-12-06T14:56:00.002-06:00

recently we bought new bedroom furniture. yay! we really like it.

but now we need to change a few things...and i need help.

i've taken a picture of our bed and comforter....now i need help with the rest.

walls...

carpet...

and anything else that you can think of.

the pillow on the bed is an idea for colors. i want to paint the wall a dark blue/grey without it looking like a boys nursery.

so....help.

chugga chugga chugga chugga shoe shoe

2010-12-03T14:48:00.000-06:00

one of our friends down the street was kind enough to give me a big bag of shoes for ainsley, since her girls have grown out of them.

ainsley is in heaven.

she.loves.shoes.

she sat there in her pile of new shoes looking at each one saying over and over again, "shoes. shoes. shoes." which is really more like choo...but i get it.

she loves them.

especially her new pink boots.

almost everyday i'll find her sitting down trying to put them on herself. she loves her pink boots.

thanks great neighbor, ainsley is in choo choo heaven.

brrr...cold

2010-11-27T14:32:00.000-06:00

i love this time of year.

i get to drink hot chocolate and caramel apple spice.

eat peppermint bark ice cream.

put up christmas lights

i get to wear cute coats...and dress up ainsley in cute coats.

i love it!

i love getting to pull out all my winter clothes. whats even better this year is i get to pull out ainlsey's too. i knew having a girl would be fun - i just love all the cute little clothes we get to buy. we got our first pair of mittens and a matching hat...and she actually loves to wear them. we bought her a cute sweater dress too, and she's adorable!

yay for winter!

(i know, its only november, by february i wont feel the same...but for now...i love it!)

celebrate good times....come on

2010-11-12T14:26:00.002-06:00

one of the many things i love about my family is how much we love to celebrate things.

birthdays don't last a day - we have birthday weeks...sometimes we celebrate all month long!

we even celebrate half birthdays.

we celebrate pi day, ice cream day, and have other great festivities.

now some of this may be because we can't always get presents together on time, but that's besides the point.

we love a good party.

ainsley recently had her super first birthday, and is still enjoying the benefits of her birthday month. thanks grandma for extending the celebration.

i just look that way

2010-11-10T21:03:00.006-06:00

i saw this picture on jamie's blog and i felt like i need to explain something about myself....

once one of my college teachers asked me to stay after class so he could talk to me about something. never a good sign. then he asked me if he had offended me during our class discussion.

no.

i couldn't think of anything that would have.

he said that during the discussion i had this sort of angry look on my face.

i laughed and said, no i just look like that.

its true.

ever since i can remember i've had strange people i don't know coming up to me and saying things like, "just smile" or "you're too pretty to look so sad" or "hey lady what's wrong."

so here it is.

i look angry, perturbed, annoyed, and/or mad when i'm thinking.

i'm sure people who don't know me probably think i'm grumpy all the time, but it's not the case. i just look that way when i'm thinking deep carrie thoughts of chocolate and kitty cats.

so don't be offended if you see me with a scowl on my face.

i'm not angry - i just look that way.

its the most wonderful time of the year

2010-10-26T20:38:00.000-05:00

i love this time of year. the leaves are changing and slowly falling. the humidity has finally left us. i get to wear my warm pajamas and drink hot chocolate.

it's perfect.

i think living in california has helped me appreciate the seasons a little more. i still love california weather and would go back in a heartbeat, but i love the fall and all the seasonal changes.

i know in april i'll be whining about the weather, but for now, i love it.

another great thing about the fall is the holidays! canadian thanksgiving, halloween, american thanksgiving, and christmas! it is all so much fun! especially the baking!

to get in the fall/halloween spirit a bunch of us moms went out to a local pumpkin patch. we dressed the little ones up in their halloween costumes and watched them walk/crawl/scoot around all the pumpkins. it was a lot of fun and they all looked so so cute.

(poor ainsley needed her nap by this point)

i love how big her booty is

ainsley's first birthday!!!

2010-10-17T21:07:00.004-05:00

after many long hours of planning and several attempts to be crafty i was finally ready for ainsley's big party. your first birthday party is very serious business. okay, really, its not but i couldn't help myself. i remember calling my mom and telling her i needed an intervention.

i may have gone a little crazy, but i loved it. i think ainsley did too.

i know she didn't have a clue that it was her birthday, but every time the doorbell rang and someone else came in she ran to the door to greet them. it was so cute! she was so excited to have so many friends over. i was so sad not to have our family there, but we were so blessed to have so many good friends from church and work be with us.

it was so much fun. a lot of work, but definitely worth it. it was nice to celebrate her and look back at the past year and all the great memories we have. we are so blessed to have such a wonderful daughter.

happy first birthday miss a.

so the party....i went craft crazy. duben was kind enough to let me just go for it.

i made ainsley a 'happy birthday' banner out of fabric. yes, i sewed.

i made some tissue paper pom poms for the mantle

i also made some fabric pom poms to hang by the food table.

i printed out a variety of pictures of ainsley throughout the past year and cut out cute little borders for them.

i made a ribbon topiary w/ her party colors for the table. then for food, we had some glass jars to put some of ainsley's favorite snacks in.

i made some sugar cookies - A's and the number 1.

i made strawberry cupcakes w/ lemon frosting and dark chocolate with cream cheese frosting

her cake was strawberry w/ cream cheese frosting

she had to have a party outfit, so i put a #1 on a t-shirt for her

your 1-year old toddler

2010-10-15T17:37:00.000-05:00

for the past few weeks all i've been thinking about was ainsley's birthday. i've been so excited to celebrate her first birthday. i went online and got lots of fun party ideas and got to work. and i worked and worked and worked.

i was so busy i don't think i really came to terms that my little girl was turning one until i got my weekly baby update. you know those emails you started getting when you were pregnant that told you what size of fruit your baby was, then it was baby emails about tummy time and eating solids.

i got my weekly email today, except it wasn't for a baby anymore, it was for my toddler.

it happened so quickly. i still remember the first time she rolled over, sat up, and started to crawl. it seems like just yesterday she started walking.

this past year has been amazing. i can honestly say that being a mom has exceeded all of my expectations. duben and i constantly say how blessed we are to have such an amazing girl. she's got such a strong personality and is always so happy and energetic. everyday is always so much fun.

thank you ainsley for the best year of our life.

my wonderful grandmother

2010-10-04T21:21:00.004-05:00

ainsley and i were lucky enough to travel to utah a few weeks ago to visit with friends and family. the main point of our journey was to visit with my dad's parents - nani and gumpa. we knew nani was having some health issues and we wanted to make sure she was able to meet her little great granddaughter.

i think it is safe to say they adored each other immediately.

ainsley is usually pretty shy at first, but she just took right to nani. she loved playing hide and seek with her and i had to keep her from running back to see nani while she slept.

my grandmother passed away yesterday. she was blessed to have all her children by her side. i'm so grateful to have so many wonderful memories of her. she was a great example to me and was always so loving and thoughtful.

i know she meant well in giving me those poofy black dresses i had to wear to church.

i love you nani.

such a big girl

2010-10-01T22:23:00.001-05:00

ainsley had a fun play date today with her friend savanna. you'd probably never guess that ainsley is only one day older than her.

i really wish i would have taken a picture when we put their feet together.

ainsley is a monster!

when they first started got together they kept crying back and forth at each other. quite amusing. once they got over that they were great friends.

LOOK AT THEIR FEET!!!

just cause

2010-09-25T22:14:00.000-05:00

i can't believe how big ainsley is getting. its crazy to see her walking and talking all the time. she's always so happy and i love love love that she cuddles with me.

every so often i miss working and the adult interaction, but that never lasts long. especially after she says mommy or just wants to cuddle and watch tv.

i'm so blessed to be home with her everyday and so grateful for the love that we share.

i dont have a problem

2010-09-24T21:38:00.001-05:00

i have fond memories of babysitting my niece while i was in college. most of those memories include letting her drink my coke. sorry melanie.

now i have my very own little one i try and protect her and give her only nutritional things, but there's only so much you can do.....

and no....its not open

visiting with uncle toph toph

2010-09-16T22:43:00.003-05:00

ainsley and i were away traveling though utah and idaho when she hit 11 months (more on the trip later).

she's walking like a pro now - it is so cute!

it was so fun seeing her being so social with all the different people we've been meeting.

today we spent most the day with uncle topher - you can't beat that! we did lots of fun things and ate lots of yum yum yummy food.

i still think about the banana pie shake i had. if you're ever in provo or rexubrg - go to sammy's. so good.

ainsley loved hanging out with topher and he was so great with her. she absolutely adored him (and all his lady friends).

thanks uncle topher for letting us stay and play with you for a little while. we can't wait to see you again at christmas!

and off she goes

2010-09-06T18:03:00.000-05:00

as i've mentioned before, ainsley has been taking small steps here and there for a while now. we knew it wouldn't be long before she got it figured out. sure enough, today she just got the confidence and started walking.

so so so so cute.

she does a cute little zombie walk with her arms out as she staggers along.

i love it.

here's some clips of the first moments.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zd_PBuNYZMg

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eXUmc8OkZdQ

mom and dad are quite proud.

love for relief society

2010-09-05T15:30:00.004-05:00

i've had one of the best callings for a little over a year now. i was teaching primary for the 4 year olds turning 5. challenging - definitely, but also incredibly rewarding.

i loved hearing their stories of how they choose the right. they were all wonderful examples to me of how uncomplicated our lives should be and how easy it should be to serve and love others.

last week i was released and call to serve on the activities committee. it was definitely a bittersweet day saying my goodbyes to my wonderful class. it was especially difficult when my students and parents got teary eyed. i of course shared in their emotions. i loved that class, and i love that the kids still run up to say hello and give me hugs.

the bright side is that i get to go to class with duben now and be with my little ainsley. i also get to go to relief society and be with adults! yes...i actually look forward to going to relief society. who knew?

we had a great day together. i loved hearing the wonderful lessons and being with my family.

i think ainsley enjoyed being with mom too...enough that she gave me kisses, which is a rare occurrence...and the fact that we got it captured - priceless.

almost there

2010-09-02T23:24:00.001-05:00

i can't get over how big ainsley is getting.

duben and i keep saying she's just growing up too fast. she's not my little baby anymore.

she's not walking completely on her own yet, but she's definitely mobile and all over the place. it is so cute watching her move around.

her personality is really starting to come out - she's such a silly girl!

definitely a fischer.

pacifier...soother...binky....none of the above

2010-08-22T20:32:00.000-05:00

this picture is probably typical of most infants.

babies love pacifiers.

ainsley did too....for about two weeks. then she found her thumb. i'm all for it. its a self-soothing win-win for us. if it falls out, she can put it right back in.

pacifiers are good to chew on now. when she's interested in them, this is typically what she does with a pacifier.

that's my girl.

what a lush

2010-08-21T20:39:00.000-05:00

i love drinks.

i always love to go to the store and see what new drinks are out. i remember going grocery shopping with my college roommate aubry and always stocking up on fun drinks.

one of the many reasons i love duben is for his fondness for drinks.

ever since we've been married we've always had sections in our fridge and cupboards set aside for drinks.

i've even got the pictures to prove it!

(don't hate on the diet pepsi)

current cupboard

play date at the pool

2010-08-17T21:14:00.001-05:00

so we finally got out and had a play date this week. we've had such a hot summer and its been in the 90's and above for about 50 straight days. of course, the one day we picked was the first overcast day. it was still fun and warm enough for us.
its so nice being a in branch with so many girls ainsley's age.
it was great to see all the girls and how big everyone is getting.

the girls loved the pool and were able to splash and crawl around.
so much fun!
yes, i know, i forgot ainsley's hat. my mistake.

a fast 10 months

2010-08-16T20:37:00.000-05:00

i can't believe how quickly time goes by. i know i say this to myself every time i see how big ainsley is getting.

i just can't believe how fast she's growing.

she's getting even more of her own little personality. she's going through the phase of smiling and laughing when i tell her no. its hard to keep a serious look when she gives me that guilty smile.

she's sooo close to walking. she's up to 8 steps on her own, but you have to encourage it, she's still hesitant of it. i'm ready for her to walk cause she's getting heavy!

duben and i just adore her. she's just as cute as ever. and always so happy.

we are just so blessed and grateful for her.

new toys

2010-08-16T09:32:00.000-05:00

ainsley isn't much for toys so i never know what to get her. she'll like a new toy for about a week then is bored. i usually just fill up her toy bucket with toys and random things and she'll spend most her time emptying it and throwing it around.

then i found this!

ainsley LOVES playing in this. she'll sit inside and look at me through the tube and then outside the tent and just laugh. she (and oscar) love climbing back and forth through the tube.

best buy ever!

sleeping....on the floor?

2010-08-14T00:14:00.000-05:00

ainsley has always been a great sleeper. that is one thing i am so grateful for.

i love my sleep.

recently we've been having problems getting her from our arms to the crib. somehow she just knows you're putting her in the crib and she doesn't like it. she immediately wakes up and wants out.

then i discovered the floor.

one night i put her on the floor so i could get her blanket, and she immediately fell asleep. later that week i was trying to get her down for a nap and she again chose the floor.

who knew the floor was better than her warm and cozy crib?

a little more everyday

2010-08-08T23:58:00.000-05:00

i can't believe how quickly time has gone by since ainsley's been in our life.

i knew i'd love her, but i never knew it would be this much.

i never imagined how much joy she'd bring to our lives.

it has been amazing watching her grow and become her own person. i especially love watching her with duben. its easy to see how much they love each other.

i'm so grateful for my amazing family.

i know its cheesy...but i love waking up to her every day and seeing her grow into such a beautiful girl.

i love being a mom.

quick family trip to nauvoo

2010-07-23T11:15:00.004-05:00

duben and i recently took a quick weekend trip up to nauvoo. i've never been to any of the church sites, so was really excited to see everything.

our first stop was carthage jail.

carthage jail was a really cool experience. it was such a great experience to be there and hear the stories and feel the spirit that was there.

did i mention it was hot? so hot. hot. hot. hot. its hot in arkansas, but it was really hot and humid there.

next we headed up to nauvoo. first stop was the temple. its amazing. it is such a beautiful temple. the view from the temple it gorgeous, i just loved being there.

we stopped at 'our' visitor center next. to look around, and cool off. it was hot.

outside they had one of the original stones from the nauvoo temple.

after that we hit the town and went to all the shops and homes that were there. it was so cool to see all the missionaries dressed up and telling the stories and bearing their testimonies. i can't image enduring the struggles and hardships they faced then. i couldn't even deal with the heat!

i'm so grateful for the sacrifices made by such faithful people. it was such a great experience, there was such a wonderful spirit that was there.

we didn't make it to the pageant. we weren't sure if ainsley, or us, would make it that long (it started at 8:45) so we ended up going to our hotel and swimming then relaxing in our cold room.

all in all a great trip. maybe next time we'll go when its a little cooler.

9 months

2010-07-16T11:03:00.001-05:00

i still can't believe how quickly time has gone by. ainsley is 9 months old already! what an incredibly blessing she is to us. she's always so happy and playful. she's definitely going to keep me busy with all her energy.

ainsley is just shy of 22 lbs (75% for her age)
29" tall (90% for her age)

ainsley is still crawling like a pro. she's so fast now, she'll disappear into another room without me noticing. she's walking along the couch and her crib, so who knows when walking will come. i still think she's unsure of the idea of not holding on to anything, so i think it will be a while.

we noticed another tooth is coming in...which makes 8!

she is still very social, but is at that stage where mom or dad need to be within sight.

she loves animals, especially dogs. she doesn't need to touch them, but when she sees them her whole body gets excited. its the cutest thing.

she's a great eater. anything that mom and dad are eating she wants to try.

she's mastered drinking from a straw now, which is adorable, and very helpful.

i love watching her grow and figure things out. i especially love seeing how excited she gets when duben comes home. she just adores him. she wont leave his side for at least 30 minutes once he's home. i am so blessed to have such a wonderful family.

fabulous friends at home

2010-07-11T09:20:00.000-05:00

i love going home for the obvious reasons - good food, the beach, the awesome weather - but also to see great friends.

sadly i didn't get to see everyone - i needed another week! but i was able to visit with some great friends. i was SO glad i got to see emily while i was home. i can't believe i haven't seen her since my wedding! i am so sad we didn't get a picture to capture the wonderful event. i love emily. even though we hadn't seen each other in forever and dont get to talk as often as i'd like, we picked up like it had only been weeks.

we definitely can't wait another 5 years.

another fun visit was with robin and laurie. we all went out one night after the kids were in bed. it was fun to get out and relax with old friends. its amazing to remember back when we were all growing up and now seeing everyone with families of their own.

it was a great night.

(it was even more fun watching robin eat all that chocolate cake!)

home sweet home

2010-07-10T16:44:00.001-05:00

i love to travel and see new places, but there's just something special about being home.

i love california. love. love. love it.

i love the ocean.

i have so many wonderful memories of beach days with family and bon fires with amazing friends.

i love all the yummy food i always get when i go home. i especially love all the great food my mother bakes up while we're home. amazing.

it was so great getting to take ainsley home. i loved seeing her experience the beach and getting to show her off to family and friends.

luckily we kept busy. we checked out the aquarium, cannery row, santa cruz, carmel, and spent many hours relaxing out front with grandpa and grandma...and uncle chuny.

i can't wait to go back.

just a day at the park

2010-06-06T14:49:00.000-05:00

we are really lucky to live in such a great neighborhood. we have great neighbors and everyone we meet is always very friendly. another great bonus is having so many people from the ward close by. i believe there are eight families from our ward that live in our subdivision, which is always nice.

we also love being so close to the park and pool! we decided to take ainsley to the park today and try out the swing. i think she enjoyed it. it was nice putting her in the swing and seeing that she's still little. sometimes i feel like she's growing up so fast!

we got some great pictures...i especially love the one showing off her teeth! so cute!

hello pearly whites

2010-05-21T21:40:00.000-05:00

a few days ago ainsley's top teeth finally cut through her gums. poor thing. she's been so good through it all. she just drools a lot and chews on whatever she can.

she's got both coming in together, so that's 4 teeth already. then today i noticed....she's got 2 more moving in right next to the top ones.

i can't believe how fast she's growing. six teeth at seven months!

i'll miss her gummy grin.

let the games begin

2010-05-15T01:04:00.000-05:00

its finally happened. i knew it would happen sooner than i'd like. but its just so cute i dont care.

ainsley has been on the verge of crawling for the past few weeks. she's been sitting up for a while and progressed to go from sitting to leaning forward and getting on all fours. she's been able to move from side to side and then backwards, but never quite mastered forward.

then today it happened.

she saw something she liked, and just went for it. it was amazing, there was no army crawling, no scooting, no falling over. it was like she already knew how to do it and just did it.

i'm realizing how unprepared i was for this. she's already getting my cell phone, the remote, and poor little oscar. sorry buddy, life is quickly changing.

another milestone...and so fast! a few days shy of being 7 months old! i was thinking i had at least another month before she should be crawling. so cute though. she just gets the biggest smile on

her face when she crawls and gets to where she wanted to go. i'm so proud.

first family vacation

2010-05-13T01:58:00.000-05:00

to celebrate 5 fabulous years we decided we should take a trip. we didn't know where.

we thought about everything.

maybe go back and visit NYC again

maybe paris again and eat all of our favorite foods

we thought a cruise could be fun

we had lists and lists and to shorten it we decided we should go somewhere we hadn't been yet...and somewhere we wouldn't have to fly over 7 hours to arrive.

we decided on seattle/vancouver. i think a lot of it had to do with the fact the olympics had just ended and we had seen all the cool places vancouver had to offer.

so april 30 - may 9th we saw and ate as much as we could.

a few highlights....

we got to see matt and mel and their adorable children for a few days in seattle. probably my favorite part.

then we traveled up and spent a day in gorgeous victoria with corrina and family. it was wonderful seeing her and her cute family.

last stop was vancouver where duben's family joined us.

vancouver was beautiful. it was amazing having the coast and mountains all together. for our anniversary we went on a seaplane around the city and up in the mountains. it was beautiful.

ainsley did fantastic and loved getting out and seeing so many fun places and people. and the people just loved her everywhere we went. we joked that we went to the mall which should have taken 30 minutes, but ended up over an hour because of all the people who wanted to stop and talk to her.

it was a wonderful trip. fun to see new places and be with friends and family.

the first 5 years

2010-05-05T13:40:00.000-05:00

may 5th was our five year anniversary. amazing.

in 5 years we have:

lived in 8 states (CA,AZ,NV,UT,ID,VA,NY,AR)

moved 13 times

visited 14 countries

owned 3 cars

graduated college together

both got jobs at walmart

bought our first home

had a beautiful baby girl

not too shabby.

thank you duben for an amazing 5 years. it has truly been the best years of my life. i can't wait to see what the future holds for us.

maybe this is my favorite stage....

2010-04-16T13:23:00.000-05:00

being a mom continues to be better than i had expected. i wasn't sure how i'd deal with the not-so-fun parts of motherhood, but there really aren't any. ainsley deserves a lot of credit for that. she is an amazing baby.

i can't believe six months have already passed since she arrived. she already has such a personality. she loves to interact with anyone and everyone.

thanks for an amazing six months. i love you more.

a mean trick

2010-03-23T19:45:00.000-05:00

i came home from running some errands this afternoon and had a scary surprise waiting for me. all the bedroom doors in the house were open. i was scared to death.
the back bedroom doors were open - we never go in those rooms - and even the closet doors were wide open. i hurried and called duben to see if maybe he had left them open for some strange reason. nope. so i made him stay on the phone while i checked each room and waited for a scary burglar to jump out at me.
nothing.
then i saw him.

oscar.
oscar has taught himself to open doors. that was a mean trick oscar.

forever. forever ever. forever ever.

2010-03-18T15:03:00.000-05:00

duben and i went out to dinner today to celebrate his promotion.
way to go duben.

little miss 'a' decided that she wanted to talk...and it wasn't her church voice. we figured it was probably because she's teething. (she has her two bottom teeth in, and we think the top two will soon be arriving.) she was content in her car seat until dinner arrived....of course. so i held her while duben ate for a bit and then we switched so i could eat.
we were finishing up when this older couple across from us finished and the wife came over to look at ainsley. she left to go to the restroom and the husband told us about how they went to dinner a week ago and saw a couple in a similar situation as us with a little fussy baby. except the wife held the baby the whole time and got her food to go. he told us that when he saw duben take ainsley he told his wife, "that couple is gonna last." (people are so nice here)

i always knew i had a great marriage, but it is always nice to know that other people see it too. thanks duben for being a great husband.

sit ainsley sit

2010-03-16T23:57:00.000-05:00

who would have thought that seeing a baby sit would be so cute? ainsley hit another milestone today, she's found her balance and can sit on her own now. i must say she just looks so cute sitting there all by herself. thank goodness for cell phones, i was able to catch it and send it to dad at work. we're both so proud.

she loved trying to sit by mom and dad but hadn't had much luck in staying up without a little help. she knows she's able to do it by herself and gets a big smile when she sits....so adorable.

'i love this stage.'

she's growing up so fast!

keep rollin rollin rollin

2010-03-03T00:43:00.000-06:00

another exciting milestone for ainsley. she's mastered the art of rolling over, both ways! over christmas she rolled from her belly to back a few times, which was awesome. and now she's finally got it down. its so fun seeing the look in her eyes when she pops up on her belly, she's so proud! its the cutest thing ever.

since its march she's also sporting her irish threads. daddy is so proud. my favorite irish pair!

food glorious food

2010-02-23T00:51:00.000-06:00

i was pretty excited when the doctor told me to start giving ainsley food....though my mom warned me just to be patient. you can't be in a hurry when its time to feed babies. they eat on their own time.

so true.

we started with rice cereal, then in a week or so it's on to the good stuff. well, as good as pureed peas can be. she did so well though...it took her a bit to get used to the consistency, but she's learned quickly. so fun!

again, 'i love this stage.'

a tooth!

2010-02-03T00:36:00.000-06:00

i love each little milestone that comes with having a baby. i never knew i'd get excited over the littlest things, but i definitely do.
today i noticed ainsley is getting her first tooth in already! she's been drooling a lot lately, but i figured it couldn't be teeth since she's only 3 1/2 months! her bottom tooth is already cutting through and i think the next one should soon follow.
so cool!

goodbye corporate america

2010-02-01T09:59:00.000-06:00

i've always had a job. since i graduated high school and entered the world of adulthood i've worked and/or have been in school. (okay, there was one summer i didn't, but i had just gotten married).
i enjoyed working at walmart. i learned so much and loved being part of a great company. when ainsley came i knew that i wanted to stay home and be with her. there were things about working i'd miss, but i can say that being a mom is better than anything i expected. i love waiting for ainsley to wake up and smile at me. i love watching her figure out the world around her. i love that i'm there every day to see her grow.
at the end of walmarts fiscal year they give us a nice bonus. to ensure i got mine i had to be an employee as of feb 1st. my maternity leave was up january 11th. i had to go back to work. it broke my heart. if it had been any longer i couldn't have done it. luckily we have an amazing ward and ainsley was with some great families while i worked.

and now i am done.
i can say i did it. i got the job i went to college for. and now i can leave it behind without hesitation. my meeting planners are now playdates and nap times.
thank you duben for working so hard to support our little family.
i couldn't be happier.

3 Months!

2010-01-20T16:08:00.001-06:00

i can't believe it has already been 3 months! being a mom is amazing. i love all of it, even the fussy days and the explosive diapers. luckily, we dont' get many of those.
it has been quite a change for us being responsible for this beautiful little girl, but we can't imagine our lives without her now. duben is an amazing dad and ainsley already has him wrapped around her finger. we are so blessed.
i'm not sure what we did but ainsley is the happiest little girl. she's constantly smiling and talking - and she sleeps through the night! yup, she's down by 10 and up at 7:30. i'm not sure if that means the next ones will be little hell raisers or if ainsley will be a little diva later. either way, we're loving life right now.

she's so cute when she sleeps.
she's discovered her thumb, which is so cute.
thanks aunt jamie. she has the cutest blankets.

Ainsley Marie Wilde

2009-10-16T18:00:00.000-05:00

I figure I should probably tell the story of my wonderful labor. I took the classes and watched baby story, yet I wasn't quite prepared for the way things went down.....

My official due date was October 24th, and my doctor had been telling me for weeks that I wouldn't reach it. Yet week after week no baby. It isn't fun being at the end and thinking that any slight pain could be the start of labor. Luckily, I was feeling fine and was still able to work and get around easily. On October 15th I participated in our office Olympics. I thought for sure that would have done it for me. The next day was just another day at the office...so I thought. I go up to go to the bathroom and...well....I started to leak a little. I thought it might just be the results of a doctor's visit earlier, so I didn't think too much of it. I text Duben and told him to call me after his meeting, and I called and left a message with my doctor just in case. Duben called about a half hour later around 10:30 and I told him I'd call him right back - I wanted to step outside and discuss my situation. When I got up that time I definitely was leaking water. I ran to the bathroom and called Duben and told him he needed to come get me. Luckily no one noticed. I met him at the back door and he came in and got my things for me and informed my team that my water broke.

We rushed home and I got together our bags and I just kept leaking every time I stood up. I called my doctor again and they told me I should come in by 1:00. By the time I changed (a few times) and we stopped and got some food, we showed up at the hospital around 1:15, and my contractions were slowly starting. They took me back to see if I should really be there or not. The doctor didn't even check me because I was still leaking so much. They took me to my room a little after 2:00 and got me changed and all hooked up to the machines. Now we waited for my drugs and my little girl to start coming. After about 30 minutes my nurse came in and told me it could be a little while before I got my drugs because there was an emergency C-section and they were really busy, but I'd get it. So I waited...and waited. My contractions started coming faster and harder rather quickly. I didn't see a nurse in over an hour and I wanted my drugs. I finally sent Duben out to go find a nurse to tell me what was going on. A nurse came in a little after 4 to see how I was....in pain! The anesthesiologist was still in surgery. She decided to check and see how far along I was - 9cm. At that point I had this horrible feeling that I wasn't going to get any pain relief. She told me she'd hurry and get something to help with the pain and I could still get my epideral. By the time she came back and checked me again I was fully dilated...she couldn't give me anything. The anesthesiologist then showed up, he said he could give me something, but by the time it kicked in I could already have the baby. This wasn't the way I wanted this to go.

About ten minutes later the real labor began and twenty minutes after that at 5:36 p.m. Ainsley Marie Wilde was born. The nurse told me that since I was so little and had lost so much fluid she thought I'd have a 7 lb baby. Ainsley came in at 9 lbs 4 oz. with lots of beautiful sandy blonde hair.
The labor wasn't what I had thought it would be. I heard so much about 12 hour labors. Mine was barely 4. It was all worth it though...she was perfect.

Walmart Shareholders "Meeting"

2009-06-05T18:00:00.000-05:00

just last week Walmart had its yearly shareholders meeting. its a long meeting with all the walmart shareholders ... obviously. we talk about last year's sales, what we're doing now, and the board of directors vote on silly measures (which always get rejected). but luckily for us, walmart likes to throw in some entertainment for us during the week and then at the meeting so its not so boring.

a few days before the meeting we got to go see sugarland and brad paisley put on a nice show for us. duben and i scored floor seats just 14 rows from the stage. brad even sang his first song just two feet in front of me. it was fantastic. i must say, mr. paisley puts on a nice show, even duben had a good time.
the next night was foreigner and chris daughtry, but we decided to pass.

then came the actual meeting. normally i'm quite annoyed when i have to attend at a meeting at 7:00 AM, but this was an exception. we arrived at the meeting at 6:15 to make sure we had decent seats and were welcomed with all the juice and snacks our hearts desired. not too shabby walmart. then the meeting started...with ben stiller. oh yeah...mr zoolander was our m.c.! it was great. we had a few boring speeches, but some fun guests like...michael jordan, miley cyrus, smokey robinson, and american idol winner kris allen.
what a fun day at work!

Under Construction

2009-06-04T20:22:00.000-05:00

I will try and update SOON.
a little news since you're here.

I'm expecting! A girl!
October 24th.

More to come.

Wilde Zoo

2009-06-03T17:27:00.000-05:00

duben and i are finally getting settled into our house. the kitchen is finally set up just the way we like it and we even have some pictures on the wall. we noticed a few weeks after we moved in we have quite the assortment of animals that use our yard as a playground.

we noticed a robin had set up a little nest above our door. so every morning we get a 'hello' from her as we leave the house. she likes to sit on the roof and chirp at us until we leave. this weekend we noticed three little beaks peaking out over the side of the nest. it was cute at first...until our porch became their bathroom.

the animal fun doesn't stop there. duben found, and rescued, some frogs out in our front yard a few months ago. he was quite worried whether they would make it or not. just last night after the storm we found a slightly bigger frog jumping in our driveway. i told duben is was his rescued frog...it was a good reuinion for him.

earlier that day duben was pulling weeds in the back of the house when he discovered what he thought was a mouse. he was about to say goodnight to the little guy when he realized the mouse had large ears....and that it wasn't a mouse but a bunny....and not just one bunny, but five little baby bunnies all curled up together. they were cute and oh-so little. we covered them up and let them stay in our yard until they were ready to venture off with the other rabbits.

and last, but not least...my favorite animal of them all. after duben has his frog reunion we were checking out the sky from our backyard. we noticed something running along the bushes by the stream. at first we thought it was a cat or a rabbit, but it was moving a little slower. then we thought maybe a possom...as we looked closer we realized we had an armadillo running through our yard! this is extraordinary for many reasons. first, i've never seen an armadillo before...not many running through california. and second, when you do see armadillos....they're on the side of the road dead. so to see a real live armadillo running through our yard was fantastic!

those are all of our animal friends for now. hopefully they stay friendly and stay outside of the house.

Howdy Y'all

2008-08-29T18:05:00.000-05:00

Well we finally arrived in Arkansas. We love it here! The people have been extremely nice and its really pretty. Our apartment is bigger than we remembered, so we're excited about that. There are so many boxes everywhere and no where to put it! Oscar did well on the drive...after his sad meowing. He mostly stayed on the console between us. He likes the new apartment, there are lots of high places for him to sleep and watch over us.
We bought a couch this weekend so hopefully we'll get that soon! A full set - its so cute! We're just waiting to get it, and to get some more furniture to put all of our stuff in. We're really excited about being here in Arkansas and all the good times ahead of us!

Farewell Salinas

2008-08-26T17:40:00.000-05:00

So it was finally our 'real' last day in Salinas. We roamed the streets and said goodbye to our giant friends. We've all seen them...so cute and large. Then mother made a giant cupcake, which was glorious. I had my doubts, but it was quite fantastic.
We had such a fun time...the MONTH we were visiting. We ate real good Mexican food, bought mom lots of cute clothes, ate way too many tasty treats, and spent some time at the beach. It was tons of fun, and can't wait to go back!

A blogger I will be

2008-08-24T22:24:00.000-05:00

After Katie’s request, I will attempt to be more constant with my blogging. So after Katie’s desire for my glorious insights and recollections I have decided to dedicate this blog entry to you dear Katie. While pondering what I should discuss this week, I searched through my photos to find picture after picture of Katie (Which she took of her pretty self). So here’s to you Katie…and your pretty self. (*Note to reader...Katie is being silly)

Vacation of vacations!

2008-08-14T22:21:00.000-05:00

Duben and I flew out to ‘vacation’ in exotic Northwestern Arkansas…thank you Wal-Mart. We spent 5 days 4 nights in Bentonville, Arkansas. The purpose of our lovely adventure was to find appropriate housing and get to know our new home. Oh yes, Arkansas will be our new home. I was pleasantly surprised how beautiful it is here - very lush and green. The people are super nice and our new ward seems great. There is even a lake close by, so we're excited about that.

It is funny to look back on all the great places we’ve lived and traveled to in the past three years. We can’t figure out how, of all places, we ended up in Arkansas. But, we’re excited to get to know the area and take advantage of all the cool stuff we can do – we’re not sure what those cool things are yet, but we are determined to find them.

Duben is a winner!

2008-08-10T18:26:00.000-05:00

Duben has been sending out resumes after resumes the past few months getting ready to enter into the 'real world.' He's been contacted by a few different companies...we thought maybe we'd end up in Denver or New York. After a few interviews...there was one company we were both excited about and seem to be excited about Duben. After weeks and weeks of interview after interview it finally happened. Duben got a job offer from the one and only...

We are really excited! Duben will be working at the corporate office in Bentonville, Arkansas. They are flying us out to check out houses and apartments in a few days, then we'll make the drive out there August 21 and Duben will start work September 2nd. We never though we'd end up in Arkansas of all places, but we've heard nothing but good things about Bentonville, so we're really excited.

while in the ghetto

2008-08-02T22:16:00.000-05:00

So some of you know I like to refer to things as being the O.G. Like when I have a variety of BBQ sauces to choose from, honey BBQ, Cajun BBQ, or just original BBQ – I call it the O.G. BBQ. Its great, even though most times people either don’t get it, or think I’m weird. Well a glorious thing happened while Duben and I were visiting Jack-In-The-Box in Del Rey Oaks (Monterey). Duben went to go use his credit card which has a quick pay feature (that thing where you don’t have to swipe, you just touch the machine with your card). Well the cashier told Duben he was holding it the wrong way, but then realized his sensor was on the back, not the front like the newer cards. So he told Duben, oh you’ve got an O.G. card! I loved it…I’ll admit my heart skipped a beat and my eyes lit up, it was a great day for me.

Ice Cream Cones & Convertibles

2008-07-26T22:18:00.000-05:00

Today was Santa Cruz day! We went out to enjoy the sun and the amazing Pacific. The weather was great, though the waves were a bit lacking. After a great morning/afternoon of bogey boarding we headed up to Santa Cruz to do a little shopping down on Pacific Avenue. Santa Cruz is great for a number of reasons…you can’t beat the crazies who walk around, there are lots of cute little shops with great finds, and there are always lots of Reef sandals to choose from. Anyone who knows me knows how much I love my sandals, so it was loads of fun choosing a new pair. They were so cute in fact that Mom & Katie decided to get a pair of their own. Yay for sandals and being able to wear them whenever I want!

Next we stopped at our favorite Ice Cream Shoppe….Marianne’s. I was excited to get the Mexican Chocolate…yum. Duben and I were going home with Topher to check out his sweet pad and venture out in Menlo Park, so I had the privilege of riding home in his owesome convertible mustang. I hopped on in thinking I had plenty of time to finish my cone…I’m a slow eater. Next thing I knew we were already getting on the freeway and my hair and ice cream were not playing nice. The ice cream was melting and my hair kept whipping me in the face while trying to devour my ice cream, it was not fun. I tried to curl down in the backseat…that didn’t work. I tried holding my hair while I ate, and that didn’t work. Finally after getting chocolate all over me, my hair, and somehow Duben, I gave in and had to stick it all in my mouth and hope I didn’t gag. So remember ice cream cones and convertibles aren’t friends.

We FINALLY did it....all of us....sort of.

2008-07-18T17:31:00.000-05:00

Mark this down in the books - Duben and Carrie are graduates! After years and years and years, we finally graduated July 18th, 2008. It was craziness all week long - finals up until the very last day and hoards of family roaming around in our house. It was a lot of fun having our family with us to celebrate...even without Guitar Hero.
Graduation was wonderful...finally getting to wear our over sized black gowns, hats, and those cute little tassels. It was even cooler having Katie & Tyler with us graduating all together. Its weird knowing it is time for us to be grownups and move on to the next stage in our lives.
I can't wait to see where we will go....

The end is in sight!

2008-04-21T15:08:00.000-05:00

It is finally our last semester here at BYU-Idaho. It just doesn't seem real. We've been going to school for so long, I can't imagine doing something else. We're both excited about this semester - it is our last & it is summer time! (Though we've yet to see any summer-type weather). We love summers here, so what better way to end than in the summer. We're excited to be with Katie & Tyler too - and Kendelynn ...who I've yet to meet. This will definitely be a fun semester. It also helps that I only have 11 credits too!
Now it is time for us to 'grow up' and find real jobs though. We still aren't sure where we will end up....this will definitely be an interesting semester!

So Long New York

2008-04-18T15:03:00.000-05:00

Happy Birthday Duben. Duben is 30!!! Yay for Duben being older and wiser. Hope you have an owesome birthday.

We returned back to Rexburg after a long journey. The trip from New York really wore us out. I think we need a week to sleep it all off. Its so weird being back in Rexburg, we both miss New York. Its so quiet and dark in our new house. I actually miss all the people and the honking. Our house is great though...its ten times as big as our studio in New York! Its incredible. We're still getting used to the size difference, we're so used to being able to talk to each other regardless of where we are in the house...that doesn't work anymore.
Its finally our last semester at BYU-Idaho. Its definitely bittersweet. We've absolutely loved our time spent here, but we are ready to venture out and finally get settled somewhere together. And reunite with Oscar!!! We miss our little boy.
Now its time for the job hunting....this should be an interesting semester!

Fischers in New York!

2008-03-23T19:55:00.000-05:00

Mom and Dad came to visit Duben and I in New York. What an adventure. We stayed busy seeing everything and than some. It was quite the trip. I think we all needed a week just to recuperate after their trip. We started by taking them all over to get a feel for the city and how things work out here - quite different than home! It was great seeing mom stopping every block to point out something neat.
We checked out the top of the Rockefeller building, it was amazing! I could have stayed up their for hours soaking in the view. It was fun getting to be up there and actually knowing all the different parts of the city you could see.

Over the next week we about did it all. We went to Ellis Island, the Statue of Liberty, Wall Street, Ground Zero, watched the St. Patrick's Day parade, checked out Central Park, saw some shows, ate lots of great food, mom met Jacques Torres, and we ate more great food. It was such a fun week to be with them, and show off the city that we loved. It was so great seeing mom get so excited over everything! Especially all the different bakeries. I have more pictures of tarts and cannolis than I know what to do with!

Giants Win!

2008-02-04T00:55:00.000-06:00

We were quite excited to be here in New York to watch the Giants make their way to the Super Bowl. Duben & I had quite the Super Bowl party - though not as good as last year's with mom. It was amazing to hear the city roar when we won! We went out on our balcony and we could hear people cheering and shouting, it was incredible.
We decided to go check out the parade to welcome back our Super Bowl Champs - it was crazy! There were so many people! We caught a few glances of the players and the trophy. It was really fun to be apart of it all.

world trade center

2008-01-12T18:45:00.000-06:00

So today we had a little free time and thought we'd explore the city a little more. We wanted to go check out Ground Zero again. There is such a somber feeling there – looking where the World Trade Center towers once stood. It was humbling to stand right where such a horrible act of terrorism occurred. On the positive side - there are some amazing buildings there. It was also really neat seeing all the different memorials for those who sacrificed their lives to save others. It’s neat to see how much the city has really united over such a horrific event.

Next, we decided to take a ferry! I love ferries! We took the Staten Island ferry so we could see the cityscape and check out the Statue of Liberty. It was really cool watching the sunset and seeing all the huge buildings in New York. It still hasn’t completely sunk in that we are able to call this city home. We really love it here.

time to get a job

2008-01-09T12:06:00.000-06:00

Our time here so far has been pretty crazy. We tried to play tourists, but I still have to find an internship! I had a few interviews planned for last week, but I got sick so I had to reschedule for this week. I had around 10 interviews all lined up! It was crazy. I got to see some really great parts of the city, and I got to go in some really neat buildings. After doing around 7 interviews and turning down a few offers I found the job I felt was the best fit. I took a job working for the New York Titans pro lacrosse team. Check us out www.nytitans.com It's a really new team, so there is a lot of room for growth and learning for me. I'm really excited about this job - the people are great, our games are at Madison Square Garden, and my office is close enough that I walk to work.
Duben starts his job with the Department of Education next week so we're both really excited to get things going here. It still is so weird that we live in New York City!

New York City

2008-01-01T11:42:00.000-06:00

Well we finally arrived! After a miserable trip we made it. It just happened to be New Years Eve - so we had a long day ahead of us. We got all settled in our little small studio. It is really small, but we like it a lot. Just enough room that we wont go crazy. The nice t.v. helps and the view outside is really great. You can see the east river from our apartment - its great!. So after we got all settled we realized we had a lot of things we needed to buy. We tried to find the nearest Target or Wal-Mart and realized we were in for an adventure. After a long subway ride to Brooklyn we arrived to Target, not the nicest one, but a Target none-the-less. This was our first big shock that prices aren't even close to the same. Ouch.
We returned home to try and pump ourselves up to go explore New York - on New Year's Eve. We arrived in Time Square to realize this wasn't gonna happen. A few million people already beat us there. So we walked around the city a bit, we were admiring the beautiful tree at Rockefeller Center right when they turned off the lights for the night. So sad! We saw a lot of the city before we were exhausted. We stopped in at a Fridays for dinner and the cheapest thing was $18! So we settled for dessert ($9) and then hit up a street vendor for some cheap and yummy food. It was a long day!

Freakin' Fantastic Fischer Family Fiesta Fools!

2007-07-29T16:40:00.000-05:00

What a week! All the Fischers reuinited again! As you can expect this was a weekend of fun and food. Lots of yummy food. It was so much fun to be with everyone again. All the kids are so cute! Even little Tophie!

We managed to do a lot while we were all together. We build a freakin' awesome slip'n'slide...I think it ended up being around 45 ft long. We got just about everyone joined in on the fun - it was great. We also went to the lake and played on some Jet Skis....so cool! We all managed to get nice and toasty red. Which wasn't such goood timing, since we spent the next day at the water park. It was still very fun. During the evenings we jammed out to Guitar Hero and I squeezed in a little Toe Jam & Earl action when I could.

As the week went on we ate more and more food and spent some time with family. (Katie had a bangin' good time with Grandpa...it was a hit....a smash!)

We even managed to take family photos without anyone crying! Though...not everyone was always smiling. But overall, so much fun.

It was such a great week...I miss having family close. Hopefully we'll get to do this again soon.

'Winter' Fun

2007-06-23T12:03:00.000-05:00

We had a lot of fun during the 'winter' we spent in California. We weren't able to keep up with the blog, but here are some of the cool things we managed to do before heading back to school. My dad, Uncle Don, Duben and I went to a Giants game in April. It was great! That was their first win of the season, and lovely Barry hit one out of the park. And of course, the garlic fries were amazing. All of our mouths were burning, but we couldn't stop eating til they were gone. So good!

Duben and I also took a trip to the Monterey Bay Aquarium. One of our personal favs. Duben likes the Aquarium even more since he worked with them for a few weeks.
We also took a trip up to Santa Cruz. That is probably my favorite place to people watch. First we made a stop at Cole's BBQ in Aptos. It is sooo good. It has the best tri-tip, and their signature sauce is amazing. Of course we went to the Boardwalk so I could school Duben in mini golf, which I did. Then we stopped at the best Ice Cream shoppe ever...Marianne's. So many glorious flavors!

We also went to dinner with Mom, Dad, Don, and Cindy to Sapporos in Monterey. The food was great, the Chefs were really amazing to watch, Duben has tried to mimic some of the tricks with no luck, just a bunch of broken eggs on the floor. It was really fun.

Our last trip was probably my favorite of them all. We went to Carmel Beach to have a little BBQ and watch the sunset. It is sooo pretty there, it always makes it hard to leave.
Well, that's how we spent our 'Winter' - we live the rough life...

New Car!!

2007-03-31T18:59:00.000-05:00

Well, it happened...we officially sold the Audi on Monday. It was a sad day coming home and not seeing it in the driveway. Luckily we were able to find a car that night! We had been looking into a Malibu and decided thats what we would like. We heard there were mission cars being sold in our area, and they happened to have a few Malibus. I called several missions Monday afternoon and immediately after selling our car that night, we went to look at two cars in San Jose and San Francisco . San Jose had a lovely gold car...but we weren't ready for that much bling. We kept driving north to San Fran and checked out a lovely green car. We liked the green, but thought we'd sleep on it to make sure. The next morning we new that was the car. Since mom was flying out of San Jose saturday, we decided we'd wait til then to pick it up, since we had to drive there anyways. So today was the day...we got it..and for a smokin' deal! We're excited, hopefully we'll be able to take you all cruisin' in our new ride. We are still accepting names for it too. YAY!

The Hike of All Hikes

2007-03-25T18:32:00.000-05:00

As most of you know Carrie’s uncle Don and I went on a 26 mile hike and intended to do it in 2 days through the Ventana wilderness. We started at Arroyo Seco and trekked to Pfeiffer Big Surr forest campground. We went and had a great time but things didn’t work out as planned. The trail was over grown and very difficult for most of the first day. We did 18 miles in the first day and hiked from 7am to 9pm with 2 hours of breaks throughout the day. It was intense. The views were incredible and the clear starry nights were stunning. We had to fight off ticks but that was all the bug problems we had. The second day was as long as the first and the trail was still in a horrible condition, plus we got lost for about 3 hours and hike many unnecessary miles. The third day was relatively quick compared to the first two because we only had 7 miles to go. We took the bus home to Salinas from Big Surr which proved to be an interesting experience in itself with the people that got on and off the bus. We both were extremely tired when we got home and it was nice to sleep in a bed and eat home cooked food again. Don came home and the next day broke out in a rash of poison oak. It actually became quite serious. I walked through the same bushes but had no reaction to it. Our wonderful two day 26 mile hike became 38 miles and three days because the trail was so poorly marked and maintained. We look back now and laugh at what we went through during our adventure. Don and I are thinking of doing another hike during July of 2008 in Waterton National Park in Southern Alberta or in the mountains of Kananaskis Country in Alberta west of Calgary.

The First!

2007-03-07T19:32:00.000-06:00

The first blog! Okay y'all, sadly there isn't much to report on for now. For those of you who dont know, Duben and I are living it up in California for the time being. We go back to school in April up in Rexburg, ID and are looking forward to it! We love the warm weather here in California and the beautiful scenery we have in this area. It definitely has been a great place for us to spend our 'winter.' We haven't gone to the beach as much as we'd like, but we're planning on taking advantage of it until we leave. Duben is planning a weekend get-a-way with Uncle Don to hike 27 miles thru Big Sur. We will let you know how that goes.