my camera is broken.

so, let's catch up on past pictures.

this is jeff's biggest fish ever. caught in mexico last month.

we had a great time at jeff's office holiday party. we had a bbq, bounce thing, sheep, and horse rides.
enjoy the random other pics.

I like to win

but i sure had fun losing with you guys.

minus the jelly

jillian loved the pre-thanksgiving baking on wed.

then the fridge went out.

no milk, no cheese, no joy.

we got our fill this past weekend of

peanut butter minus the jelly (remember, no fridge) sandwiches.

monday afternoon brought the repairman.

i never knew how thankful i was for a refrigerator

until Thanksgiving weekend 2008.

the holiday continued with or without cold food.

jeff got muddy at the turkey bowl as JR stomped DH.

i am also grateful this year for extended family that live in AZ.

i was feeling rather homesick after talking to

mom and dad and hearing my brothers, and their wives

and children in the background.

dinner one was spent with my cousins and grandparents pete.

dinner two with the taylors.

family is truly what's important.

(this is ethan and abby schank.
jill's first cousins once removed. . . i think.
can you believe how tall she is!? she's only 8.)

little sis

is 6 months old (last friday)

she is such a tender, sweet heart

she can sit up by herself (for a handful of seconds)

she loves to watch jillian and laugh at dad

oh, she's finally sleeping through the night!! (much later than jill did)

she's even on the move already. (much sooner than jill was)


joining the army for the crawl from Alisha on Vimeo.

this is what i heard during nap time.

i couldn't make them go back to bed after this!


crack up from Alisha on Vimeo.

here's monkey's stats:

weight: 16.3 lbs (58%)

height: 27 inches (90%)

head: 17 inches (72%)

while you were gone

dear husband,

i know you were excited to go fishing in mexico this week.

truthfully, i was a little bit excited too.

i didn't have to make one 'real' dinner.

i didn't do (or need to do) one load of dishes.

i got to hang-out with some girlfriends from fallon without being razzed about it.

i got to hold the remote.

i didn't watch one second of ESPN or sports center.

i can't remember how many showers i took...

maybe one.

oh wait, i also do that (or don't do that) when you're here.

i didn't feel bad about not showering. (HA! that's sick i know.)

i ate a bowl of ice cream everyday without being teased.

the days seemed pretty normal for the most part.

the nights were different.

i appreciate your help feeding and bathing the girls.

i slept with the bathroom light on.

sometimes i can freak my self out.

i slept with long pants and a long shirt on.

i missed your warm body next to me.

i didn't eat healthy or much for that matter because i didn't have to cook.

i miss you.

but mostly, our babies missed you.

this one:

started eating rice cereal. she's pushing up onto all fours. it won't be too long before she crawling. she laughed a lot at big sis and mom. sometimes i would get frustrated because she burps so much and they aren't always easy to get out without a lot of fuss, especially at 4 in the morning every single night. i think she could have used a break from me sometimes. daddy's have patience when mommy's is all gone. she needs some daddy lovin'.

this one:

ran to the door yelling "dada" every time a car drove up. kissed the air and said "daddy?" with that look (you know that look. the one with her hands up by her shoulders like she carrying a plate, and her head tilted to the side)after the prayer each night. started a 'mommy and me' dance class and loves it. btw, she's the best in there and she's the youngest. she talks more and more everyday. she still hasn't figured out her trike but hopefully soon. she helped mommy changing diapers. but only camilles' diapers because monster is...POTTY TRAINED. that's right daddy. jillian learned to use the potty this week and can't wait to show you. she sleeps through her naps, went to dance class, and the mall with no accidents. i am so proud of her.

we miss you. we love you. get home fast.

love, wife

the girls

that sweet face in front has REFLUX.

what is up with that anyway?

she's always been the "happy spitter-upper" (all day long)

but now it's not so happy.

arching back while eating, non-stop hiccups,

screaming at night, coughing, and then throwing up.

the dr gave me the option to run all the tests etc.

i opted out choosing in-stead to try other techniques.

camille is back to her belly for nighttime and she's inclined.

one night down without any up-chucking.

wish us luck.

that sweet face in back has some good 2y stats:

head: 19 inches (85%)

height: 35 inches (86%)

weight: 30 lbs (88%)

the dr said "she's very well proportioned"

that's right she is.

Halloween Week

Monday: Crane family party.

i was out catching bugs (more specifically ladybugs)

millers could only stand that costume for so long

jill got a new bff (the pumpkin has a cute little panted face).

she is still (yes, even today) carrying it around and treating it like a baby.

tues: carving party and pizza with the fryer fam

wed: roasting fresh seeds

jills new fav snack

thurs: ward trunk-or-treat

jeff and a few of his best buds

todd: paul bunion

jeff: nasty mexian wrestler

jordan: joker (the best of the night)

jill could be caught all week with a sucker in her mouth.
i caught a snarl toward the greasy man trying to get a picture with her



Halloween: Schnepfs Farm
Gma netty meet us for fun at this country gem by my house.



my little Tabby cat

jill had a blast on the carousal,

at the pig races,

at the petting zoo,

and on the pony rides.

on a side note:

Halloween day is also Nevada Day

here's to my home state, home of my alma mater,

and having Halloween day off of school growing up.

note to self:

don't make this face ever, i mean NEVER EVER, again.

(especially in-front of people.)

oh, and don't do drugs.

birthday love

dearest sweet jill,

today you are two years old.

i can't remember life without. i do however remember the day your father

and i knew it was time to start a family. we were sitting at stake

conference and the regional representative was speaking of

temporal possessions vs spiritual desires. jeff and i were both impressed

that our possessions could wait. a new and excited life as parents

was about to begin. i am so happy that we heeded the prompting

of the spirit and received you. i love you my sweet jillian. love, momma

p.s.

i especially love:

the way you come to wake me up every morning.

the way you fold your arms, close your eyes, and bow your head.

when you pet camille's head and help me change her diaper.

when you copy everything (i mean everything) i do.

when you put your arms up and say "mommy"

a few jillian words:

jillian= dede

one= non

um= yes

controller= con

run=go

balloon= loons

please= mommy pepe

water= tata

i love you= lala

leaf= aleafs

tree= atrees

the moon= tamoo

we started two new family birthday traditions today:

1. balloon launch

a balloon for each year with one-word wishes (obedience, happiness, etc.) written on them by those celebrating with you. (thanks nienie for the idea and hayley for refinement) the kiddos enjoyed watching the balloons float away.

2. a family picture

camille is pulling jill's hair but it's the best one we got. (stole this tradition from nettie)

SYTYCD

my bff hayley got us tickets to SYTYCD.

jeff sold ol' blackie. since SYTYCD was 2 hours away (with traffic)

i thought i could use one last outing with her (the car).

this was the first car i bought with my own money.

it's a stick and i LOVE driving it.

it got me through college and my newly wed years.

we've had some good times together.

my bro jon gets a lot of credit for keeping her running while in nv.

it's been broken into twice. note the missing lock on door.

the other side has at LEAST one dent on each panel.

the a/c hasn't worked for...who knows.

last year we changed the battery once a week. az heat.

jeff said the other day: " when we were dating, i thought

am i really dating a girl that drives this piece?"

well jeff, you married her! lol.

so long ol' blackie.

hayley and i felt a little silly walking around with all the tweens

getting ready for the show. the more we looked around though

we realized that the place was swarming with "girls night"ers.

here's the group after the first number:

the only dance they didn't do that i was hoping for

was the one with chelsie in the white dress.

otherwise, SYTYCD was awesome...

besides all the in-between numbers dialogue.

hayley and i let them know what we thought about that.

we stayed after the show and ran though the bleachers

for a sneak peek behind the stage.

lucky for us we saw chelsie (my fav), screamed her name

and asked to meet her.

she was so nice and i offered one of my brothers after she

said she didn't have a boyfriend.

then i realized that all my brothers are married now.

weird.

i guess i got caught-up in the moment.

no kids, no hubby. just me and my bff acting crazy.

i forgot how old we really are.

anyway, hales and i then tried to get into the intimate after-show

by taking some back-stage passes from a chick that was leaving.

too bad we got caught by going in through the exit door.

oops. that's what you get for being dishonest and not so sneaky.

so, we waiting outside until we got to see the whole group and get more pics.

quick confidence booster: kerrington is a normal human.

don't get me wrong. she is dang pretty, but the camera loves her.

oh, and they are all soooo short. especially will. weird.

even more weird that i care.

a tid-bit

i got a new do' after seeing my ginormous forehead

overtaking all the pics from SYTYCD (more on that later).

how about this little gem i stole from val's facebook?

do you love it as much as me?

and then you think to yourself...

last weekend jeff got his hands on this little dingy:

he thought it would be fun to go camping here:

blue ridge reservoir.

the fishing was suppose to be good.

you have to boat to the camping spot. sweet.

we (us, gardiners, fryers) were so excited for the adventure.

that is until the night came.

cold set in and so did our rude camping neighbor's.

all night cussing and then loudly making-up.

oh, and who can forget the fog horn they hooted at midnight.

at this point you think to yourself,

"now why did camping sound like a good idea?".

needless to say we all felt like this in the morning:

after breakfast clean-up

the rain started and we all had to find something to do in our tents.

like put a diaper on the bunny over and over

(for about 1 hr. non-stop).(ocd much?)

we wanted to wait out the rain but our kiddos were getting really cold

and our camping neighbors weren't leaving.

we called it.

we were lucky enough to save the trip by going to my

favorite arizona spot.

conference seemed extra sweet watching it at the cabin.

the next best thing to watching it live.

my fav: pres monson sunday morning

"Let us relish life as we live it,

find joy in the journey,

and share our love with friends and family."