Holt Family of Four

A move, pumpkins, halloween, a birthday that almost wasn't and an unwelcome visitor...

2011-11-06T23:21:00.000-05:00

This past month or so has been super busy. We've moved out of our apartment and into a house. That was a super adventure along a super bumpy road, but that's a story for another day. The point is that we're in! And we're loving it!

James locked the keys in the moving truck... oops!

The boys were BIG helpers. They hauled a bunch of random stuff down the stairs and even helped us pack too. Ethan packed this box from the pantry.

James is such a hard worker.... he carried a ton of stuff down those stairs. We were lucky to have lots of guys from our ward come over and help us load and unload. We're so grateful they gave up their Friday evening to help us! We also had ladies who took our kids so I could pack and someone even sent us some dinner they day we moved. We are so appreciative! We definitely felt the love!

Soon after our move it was time for all things Halloween! We carved pumpkins, turned a 4 year old into a firefighter and a two year old into the cutest lil' sheriff you have ever seen. Every door we went to "look at that cute little cowboy!" It was a lot of fun to take the boys trick or treating around our neighborhood. After they were tired of walking around the boys and I relieved Daddy of candy duty. Those boys sure loved giving candy away. I wonder how long that will last! It was so cute!

This little guy has friends, and they like to live in our kitchen. Just great! But I guess it could be worse... they could have been rats! Anyone have a recipe for fried lizard?

So between the moving, cleaning out our apartment, all the little bumps in the road, and Halloween Joshua almost didn't have a birthday! His cake sat on the counter waiting to be eaten for two days. How sad! Good thing he's two and doesn't really care that we had stale cake and no presents for his birthday. Next year we'll be better!

A long busy summer...

2011-09-27T17:40:00.000-04:00

James with his bottle rocket...

and Joshies with his.

Ethan loves water! Unless he has to swim in it.....

The Holt family at Dad's wedding. We're so happy he found Marge!

Awe... daddy loves!

This is probably the most beautiful temple in the world!! We had such a great time in San Diego!

Lovebirds.

I think he's trying not to smile.

Joshies is a man on a mission to get to that playground.

Yummy net...

How fast do you think it'll go?

The Holt family with the Braun family at some park half way between Salt Lake and Enterprise. It was sure fun to have a picnic with them!

Who says Bigfoot doesn't exist?

Feeding the ducks is one of our favorite things to do.

SOCCER!!!

We hope y'all have had a great summer too! We are looking forward to some cooler temps and some desperately needed rain. I just hope it doesn't rain when we move! We are so excited to move from our apartment into a house. YAY!!

Oregon 2011

2011-06-23T10:40:00.001-04:00

Last week the boys and I took a trip to beautiful Oregon. It was a week long trip of crazy cool fun. We visited all the wild animals at the zoo...

Had a cookout with my Dad, Grandparents, and some of my brothers and their families.

Spent a lovely day in Lincoln City with my sister and her friend and Lori. We left with a few treasures from goodwill and the dollar store. We found Ethan a sweet ball and glove. And Joshies found a bright yellow fireman hat.

At the end of the week we went camping in Boardman with Mom and some of my brothers and their families. I think I ate more hot dogs this week than is good for any one lifetime. Yick!

Back at Dad's house the boys sure had fun playing together!

We are so glad we were able to go out and see everybody. It was a fun trip, but we sure missed this crazy guy...

Springtime!

2011-05-01T21:29:00.000-04:00

Summer (oh I mean spring!) is here and we are LOVING it!! This past week we went to a spray park downtown with some friends and loved the warm weather. Ethan had such a great time playing in the water. Joshies didn't seem to enjoy it as much... maybe next time. I also made two super scrumptious pies for a fundraiser at our church. They were my prettiest pies ever! I guess after torturing my family with the smell of baking pies I'll have to make one for them.

Ethan had a great time running through the water. These spray parks remind me of running through the sprinkler as a kid.

He was kind of grumpy all day... until we got home, then he unexpectedly decided to be the happy boy I know and love.

Super yummy triple berry pie! Isn't your mouth watering now?

Mom

2011-02-06T20:42:00.000-05:00

In January James' dear mother was in a car accident. We love her and miss her so much! Her life was filled with selflessness and love for her family. She was strong, kind, generous, and wise. She was a strength in our lives that will be dearly missed. We are grateful for the many lessons she taught us and for the love she freely gave us. We are thankful for her deep testimony of the Gospel of Jesus Christ and the way she lived it every day. Mom, we love you and we miss you!

Happy Birthday!

2010-10-31T23:40:00.000-04:00

So.. this little guy is now ONE! His favorite activities include: eating, slobbering, slithering like a worm everywhere he goes, "singing" (you and i might call it a joyful holler), snuggling, playing peek a boo, "reading", pointing at everything and grunting, did i mention eating?, having his picture taken, and thank heaven sleeping! He loves to do everything that Ethan does... which is cute most of the time, scary sometimes, and occasionally irritating (sometimes they have yelling matches that then turn into screaming matches that then turn into quiet time... :) ). He is such a happy boy! We are so happy to have him in our little family!

Ethan was so excited all day to eat Joshies cake and ice cream. He was definitely more excited for Joshies birthday than Joshua was! He kept asking when he was going to have a birthday... cute boy!

Joshua love, love, loved the cake... he wasn't so sure about the ice-cream.

I think he had a little bit too much birthday fun!

Both boys had a lot of birthday fun! We're so lucky to have our boys! They bring so much to our lives! Happy Birthday Joshua!

Visitors..

2010-10-11T18:55:00.002-04:00

My sister Alayna came to bask in the warmth of Texas with us... it was great! Too bad for her it wasn't as warm as had been or is now... it was 87 today! We still had a good time though. We went to the zoo, went bowling, to the park, had a girl's night out (courtesy of James, thanks lover!) and had so much fun! It was so nice to hang out with my sister and two of her kiddos. So excited to see them again at Christmas!

At the zoo in front of a .... dinosaur? I guess I missed that exhibit...

Wyatt and Joshua are just about the same size... Wyatt is just 3 mo and Joshua 11 mo....

Layla was having way too much fun at the bowling alley!

Both little tigers at the zoo... Ethan sure misses Layla. We loved having our visitors! We can't wait to see them again soon... and Dana too!

Holt Family Reunion

2010-08-01T22:37:00.006-04:00

For the weekend of the 24th we went to a Holt Family Reunion in southern Utah. It was so nice to see everyone! Even though our trip was short we were so glad we could go. We had such a blast!

Joshua loved all the kisses he received from aunts and cousins especially this cute auntie (James' sister Ashla).

In the past Ethan has been timid so I was surprised that we wanted to "ride" this horse. He got up there and wasn't scared at all... maybe he was a little bit scared.. he wouldn't smile for the camera. He has asked several times since then to ride the horsey...

On the 24th my sisters-in-law Erin, Heather and I walked a 5k... Shelley, Dona and her husband Brad ran it. It was a beautiful morning! After the race most of the Holts rode a float in the parade. It said "Faith Family Farming". It was the beginning of a super fun day!

After the parade we had a family picture (that was an adventure!), yummy lunch, and gargantuan water fight and went to a rodeo. It was a fun relaxing day! We were lucky that Seth and Mary were able to drive down from Salt Lake. It was great to see them too!

This is Seth and James tuckered out after a game of king of the hill with some of James' brothers and nephews. They all played hard that day.

These little guys were all pooped out too after a long day. From the left this is Finch (Seth & Mary, 1), McKay (Kimball & Shelley, 9mo), and Joshua. It was so much fun to see all of the babies! I wish I had a picture of them all together... In 14 months there were at least (not sure if I missed one) seven babies born in the Holt family. Wow!

Overall it was a super fun weekend, only wish it had been longer!

Houston Astros

2010-08-01T22:31:00.004-04:00

When we first moved here we went to an Astros game with one of James' cousins and her husband. They lost, which has been happening quite a bit lately from what I hear, but it was still fun to go and hang out with Camille and her family. We're sad to see them go... the next week they moved away...

Lonestar State

2010-08-01T22:20:00.003-04:00

Shortly after graduation we moved from Columbus, Ohio to Houston, Texas. Quite a move! It took us three super long days! We left Columbus on Wednesday afternoon, after spending most of the previous day and night packing and cleaning... may I say NOT fun and NOT easy with two small munchkins! We are sooooo grateful for James' sister Robin and her kids for coming and helping us the Saturday before.

Tuesday night we stayed in a hotel in Columbus and forgot a super cute bag with some small fans in it in the room. Sad day! I really wanted my bag back and James wanted those fans... so he called the hotel and they mailed us the fans - MINUS the cutest bag in the world! Grrrr! Anyway.... after lots of driving and a whole lot more driving we finally made it to Texas! And then we had to drive some more... Members of our new ward helped us move in. Our new ward has been so welcoming! We are so grateful for that. We are beginning to get back into the swing of things. Life is finally beginning to settle down a bit! Hooray!

So far we are loving Texas! There is so much Texas pride! It's everywhere! Texas edition this, Texas style that... It's fun! It's kind of like buckeye fever in Columbus. It's not as hot as I thought it would be, but it is definitely more humid than I expected. YIKES!! I walk outside from the air-conditioned apartment and I'm instantly wet (with or without sweating)! The things I love so far.... pico de gallo, the library (well almost... that's another story), the park, the people, the many many things to do in the city... it's great to be here!

Graduation

2010-08-01T21:59:00.005-04:00

In June James graduated from The Ohio State University College of Optometry. Yea!! His parents came out to congratulate him. His sister Robin and her family also came down from Cleveland. I am so proud of him and all of his HARD work! And I am soglad we're finally finished with school! Yea!!

Ethan loves to do everything that Daddy does...

Joshua spent most of the day in a box! Grandma took him down under the stands to get out of the sun.

He was so happy to get home and cool down!

These are some of the guys that James graduated with... they are the other LDS guys in his class. They are from the left - Thomas Moser, Chris McQuivey, Landon Hagberg, and Brandon Hicks. Congrats!

Three Years Old!!

2010-05-24T09:35:00.004-04:00

For Ethan's birthday I made him a super yummy chocolate cake!! We had friends over to help us enjoy it. Ethan loved it!

I love how easily amused small children are. Ethan loved this card! He would have loved to stop there and not open anymore of his gifts. Thanks Grandma! He loved it! And thank to his other Grandmas for their gifts too. You sure know the way to your grandson's heart!

After the cake and ice cream we sent all those little boys outside to run off the sugar overload! We tried to sit them down for a picture... this was the only one that caught all six of them looking at the camera. I wish we had a camera going the other way to catch all six of their parents trying to get them to smile...

Here are few cute ones of Joshua. He love love LOVES to eat. Good thing too! He's continuing to get bigger and bigger. Yea!!!

This week we surprised the guys and took them out. It was so nice to get out without our kidlins. This is Casey and DJ Hovermale and Thomas and Delight Moser: the parents of all those boys that don't belong to James and me. We are really going to miss you guys when we move to Texas!!

We're back...

2010-05-11T10:18:00.003-04:00

So... we didn't get lost on our way back from Minnesota! We made it back to Columbus all safe and sound... and a little bit frozen, but we've finally begun to thaw out.

When we got back my dad came out to help us finish our basement. James and Dad worked really hard and it looks great! Sorry Dad, still haven't taken any pictures of your handy work... I'll get on that.

Since then, we've been raising boys and getting a house ready to sell. Anyone looking for a charming three bedroom ranch with a finished basement? Yes, that's right we're moving to Houston, Texas. James has a year long residency there. I'm excited for a change of pace and for warmer weather.

Ethan is talking more. Which is great! Except that I still have a hard time understanding him. I catch most of what he's saying, but it's usually because I know what the context is. I am just glad he's vocalizing more and ATTEMPTING to talk instead of just jumping right into a tantrum. It is a blessing. He is making progress.

Joshua is finally growing!! YEA!!! When we first returned from MN he weighed 13 lbs 4 oz (for a child that started out at 8lbs 13 oz that is tiny!) Now a month later he weighs 16.5 lbs. YEA!! We had to juice up his formula and started him on solids. Now he's becoming quite squishy! Not quite chubby yet, but very very squishy.

So, if you stayed with me long enough to get here... I'll post more pictures next time.

Adventures in Minnesota..

2010-01-24T16:20:00.008-05:00

So, this is Minnesota

And Ethan is just as surprised as the rest of us...

This is what those mountains of snow really look like... we're not quite sure what's underneath all that snow.... maybe a secret passageway into Canada.

One weekend we ventured a little bit west into Fargo, ND and went bowling. This is Ethan's victory dance. We love bumpers! Especially me! That was my best game ever!

Another weekend we went to St.Paul/Minneapolis and went to the temple...

and to Mall of America. That place is HUGE! And still I couldn't find any shoes that fit!

We have a lot of pajama days.

No stay in northern Minnesota would be complete without ice fishing. James went out on the lake right outside of our apartment with a guy from our branch. They drilled holes in the ice and waited and waited in their little hut until.... they finally caught a ..... minnow! Okay so that was just the bait, but Ethan was sure excited about their "catch." Until next time you slippery walleyes!

And finally our cute little elf man...

He sure is growing and growing despite the cold.

We made it!

2009-12-14T09:21:00.003-05:00

After two long days of driving we finally made it to Minnesota! Whew! On Friday morning we packed everything we could possibly fit (I had zero leg room and stuff on my lap) into our car and drove about half way. It took forever because of all of the stops for Joshua. YIKES! Then on Saturday we did the same thing and arrived in Detroit Lakes on Saturday evening. It is beyond FREEZING here! I don't think we'll thaw out until we return to Columbus in the spring... The people we met at church were all very welcoming and kind.

My favorite thing about MN so far... is that everyone believes 20 is warm...

More of Joshua...

2009-11-06T07:32:00.003-05:00

I can't believe how much Joshua has changed in the last six days... it's incredible. He is a cute one! So far Ethan seems to like him. He always wants to help, which can be a bit overwhelming at times, but mostly it's sweet. We've been lucky to have James' mom here with us this week. I don't know how I could have survived without her.

Joshua Danial Holt

2009-11-02T08:43:00.005-05:00

So, on Saturday Joshua Danial Holt came into the world. He is a big boy. 8lbs 13oz, 21 inches long. He is so sweet! We are so excited to have him in our family. We are both home and doing very well.

Still Waiting...

2009-10-25T16:10:00.004-04:00

So... this is what 40 weeks feels like... good thing it's been a good pregnancy. In the meantime.....

We went to the pumpkin patch last Saturday. It was stinkin' cold!! James picked out some pretty cool pumpkins... we have yet to carve them... that will be FHE tomorrow.

This morning while getting ready for church Ethan decided to be just like Daddy. He took out James' shaver, turned it on and began to shave. He sure is growing up!

Summer lovin' ... or something like that...

2009-09-08T18:47:00.007-04:00

So this summer has completely flown by! And we have loved every minute of it! (well, pretty much) It really has been great fun! Here are the highlights... (WARNING: this post is super long!)

In July Dad and Lori came out for a visit. It was a whirlwind weekend trip that was tons of fun. Dad went to the Air Force Museum in Dayton while Lori and I went shopping. We all went up to Kirtland, then on to Palmyra for the Hill Cumorah pageant. The pageant was really cool until... it began to rain.

The picture with the umbrellas is outside the Kirtland temple. The other one is before the pageant started.

We got a little bit wet and the pageant was cancelled... maybe we'll make it back there some other time. The next day we explored the Sacred Grove. It was beautiful! After we arrived back in Columbus we took a little drive out to Amish country. On the way back I hit and killed a cat. I still feel guilty. Because I'm not so fond of cats James calls me a cat killer. It was an accident, I promise! Whenever a cat sits on his haunches stares at me I feel like he is saying "Hello, my name is Inigo Montoya; you killed my father; prepare to die." And then I run...

Our date night in July was to a Clippers game (triple a baseball team in Columbus)... James can fall asleep anywhere! Maybe that's why Ethan is a good sleeper...

At the beginning of August James' brother Blake got married in Idaho. So, Ethan and I went out early to Salt Lake to visit Seth and Mary. This is us on BYU campus, where Ethan lost his sippy cup and his sandals a few times... It was so nice to visit with Seth and Mary. Their new little one, Finch, is so sweet! And we always love seeing Tillie.

I don't have any pictures from Blake and Heather's wedding because I was sick most of the time.... ick.... We are so happy to welcome Heather into the family and wish them both the best! We loved seeing the Holts again, even though it was brief... it is so good to be with family!

So, maybe I went a little bit overboard with the tomatoes this year... we have them coming out our ears! Ethan loves to help pick them. As soon as I brought out the camera he wanted to show me the tomatoes... he is so cute! He loved helping Daddy pick them.. we're thankful that he loves to help eat them too... we've made so much salsa and given some away and still have some rotting! Why don't I can them you ask... well, basically because we won't be here this winter (yes that's right we'll be spending the winter months in Minnesota, yikes! but that's a story for another day...). Anyway... tomatoes anyone??

Another summer favorite has been to take long walks... this one wasn't so long, but it was beautiful! Ethan scraped his knee for the very first time ever. He hardly noticed it until we got home and I put neosporin on it... then he bawled! And ever since then everything is an "ouchie" and all of his stuffed animals have ouchies... it is so funny!

Last Thursday we went out to the Millersport Corn Festival. It was definitely small town and definitely fun! Of course we ate some yummy corn slathered with a ton of butter! It was good! We also enjoyed a nutritious cuisine filled with elephant ears and donuts... mmmm...

The corn festival in James' words, "We had corn, an elephant ear, watched an old time tractor pull and even took in an electrifying clogger routine! Good times!" They were good times...

Saturday was dedicated to college football. We had great weather for the OSU vs Navy game, but the score was a little too close... Later that night we went to some friends house for the BYU vs Oklahoma game. I don't know what was more entertaining, the game or James' reaction to it. He was whooping and hollering and jumping all over the place. He is a cougar to the core! Go BYU!

Yesterday afternoon we took Ethan to a living historical farm. They farm as they would have around the 1880's. It was fun... I think Ethan loves animals... from a distance. But the guys with beards not even from a distance....

The good news about summer coming to an end is that little Joshua will be coming along soon. For sure by Halloween we'll have a new little one. We are so excited! I am beginning to feel really pregnant. James is excited to have another little bruiser around and we're not sure how much Ethan understands about what is growing in Mommy's oversized belly or as James affectionately refers to it "the big belly".

Summer Adventures...

2009-06-21T22:26:00.003-04:00

So far we have had an amazing summer! And today is just the first (official) day! Oh and by the way... Happy Father's Day!

Between finals (no more class work! yea!!!) and the beginning of 4th year rotations we decided to go on a few adventures... and a few misadventures to go right in the mix...

To begin with, our air conditioning, dvd player, and tv all stopped working on the same day! So we called the air guy and a silly spider crept in the transitor and died (a quite inconvenient location...) I guess I didn't feel as hot as he did. The audio in our tv had suddenly gone out after Ethan had been messing with the buttons and remotes... a few days later we pushed the mute button on the unused remote to the converter box... and viola! we had our tv again... the only sad ending is our dvd player ( that we bought for 15 cents at a garage sale.. you get what you pay for i guess) went all the way of the earth... it does not and will not ever work again... oh well.

This is Ethan making to most out of our lack of cool air...

That weekend we took a fun little trip to the Dayton Air Museum, Mammoth Cave in Kentucky, Lincoln's birthplace, and the Louisville Slugger Museum...

James and Ethan in the cockpit of some fighter plane

Rotunda room of Mammoth Cave. We took the baby tour, but there are other tours that are more in depth... he he he...that you can really get down and dirty... It would be really cool to go on one of those tours... when I'm not pregnant and toting a two year old...

Our tent after the almost tornado... when we returned to our campsite after the cave the wind and rain picked up and we heard tornado sirens in the distance... so we took refuge in a nearby McDonald's. After waiting it out for nearly two hours this is what we found... so we stayed in a hotel that looked like it was taken right out of a scary movie... yikes! We survived to take a beautiful walk in the morning... near the mouth of Mammoth Cave.

On our way up to Louisville we took a little detour to Lincoln's birthplace...

Log cabin? I don't think so! So secretly, inside this shrine there's a log cabin that was built around the time of Lincoln's birth... I would show you the picture... but baby, I'm so chunky! (see Madagascar 2)

Now that's passion... I wish he would kiss me like that!

Ken Griffey who? Steeerike!

Monster Bat!

After returning home from all that fun Ethan helped James take apart his crib. He loves his big boy bed!!

Memorial Day Weekend

2009-05-27T16:16:00.005-04:00

Memorial day weekend was great! We had a Holt family reunion. We traveled to D.C., Philly, Hershey and Gettysburg. In D.C. we saw the monuments, the Air and Space Museum, and the National Art Gallery. We toured Independence Hall, saw the Liberty Bell, and the Ben Franklin Museum in Philadelphia. We took a pit stop in Valley Forge. It was gorgeous! In Hershey we went to Chocolate World and Hershey Park for a day of fun. Our last day of the trip was spent in Gettyburg. We toured the new visitor's center and Civil War Museum and ate lunch in the rain. It was amazing! The best part of our trip was seeing everyone. We enjoyed eating sandwiches, playing at the park, playing mafia, riding roller coasters, eating twizzlers, seeing the sights and just being with some of our favorite people...

It's true...

2009-04-23T20:50:00.002-04:00

not only did I eat too many Easter treats, but my lovely new chubbiness is also due pregnancy. Wahoo! Baby numero dos will be joining us in October. Yea for babies and no more nausea!

also...

A funny little blog stalking story... so on Sunday I was baking cookies. I think cookies are the most boring thing to bake 'cause you can't just put them in and come back 30 min later...it's every 8-10 so you can't really do anything else... so I thought a little bit of blog stalking would pass the time.... well... over the course of an hour of amusement my peanut butter chocolate chip cookies turned into nice chocolate looking chocolate chip cookies... I guess that's what I get for blog stalking...

NYC trip

2009-03-29T20:51:00.006-04:00

For spring break we decided to take a quick trip to NYC. It was a whirlwind trip (I think we only spent about 4.5 hours in the city), but still a blast!

The Statue of Liberty from the Staten Island Ferry.

Brooklyn Bridge

Manhattan from the ferry.

Corner of Wall St. and Broadway

Interesting fellow doin' a jig on the corner.

James and Ethan at Times Square

Ethan was afraid of a pigeon in Central Park. He was a little bit jumpy the whole time we were in the city.

We stayed at a KOA in PA.

Afterward, we went to visit the Bradford's in Hershey. We had a great time visiting with them. Ethan loved it there! This picture is at the park we went to for lunch. Ethan loves cantaloupe!

Facial hair and young chef..

2009-03-09T08:53:00.004-04:00

James has his board exams on March 17th and 18th, so in order to save time every morning he has not been shaving. Actually he's never grown facial hair so it's just something to do. He's going to shave it off this coming Sunday, but I hope he grows it out again. It's growing on me. Really, I do like it. It looks good on him.

Ethan likes to help us with the dishes... well actually he likes to take the dishes out of the dishwasher and play with them on the floor. Last night he pretended to be cooking. It was fun to watch. Don't worry they went right back in the dishwasher.

We are so grateful that we have been able to go to the park twice this week! Hooray for springtime! And my daffodils are poking out. Hooray for springtime! It's just about time to begin our tomatoes. I'm so excited! I love the springtime!

Some cute pictures...

2009-01-25T20:17:00.003-05:00

Ethan is such a ham sometimes and it is so cute!

Ethan loves smoothies... I think James does too...

This is what Ethan does while Mommy cleans...

So, for Christmas James gave me a new camera. This is him wishing he hadn't...

Christmas!!

2008-12-18T21:32:00.002-05:00

Merry Christmas! This season is so busy and so wonderful! I love love love Christmastime! This week has been super busy. On Tuesday we had a party at our house. That took some work, but it was worth it to enjoy our friends. Wednesday we went to the Nutcracker. I loved it!! I don't think James loved it exactly, but he went with me anyway.

Tonight we had an enrichment meeting at the church. Some ladies sang a beautiful song. They sounded great! I can't remember the name of the song though. Tomorrow we're going to the see the Wildlights at the Zoo with the youth. Whew! And sometime between now and then we get to pack! Fun times in the Holt household. And on Saturday we get to fly across the country to be with family. That is was I am most excited about! (The being with family part, not necessarily the flying with Ethan:) ) Anyway, have a Merry Christmas!

Football rivalries...

2008-11-25T18:34:00.003-05:00

So... the bad news is that BYU lost. boo hooo...

The good news is that OSU won... wahoo!! Although, I must say it was a bone chilling game... okay not so much the game, we pretty much expected them to win... but the weather! It took me a really long time to feel my feet (not just my toes, but my feet) and then I wasn't so sure I wanted to feel them. Anyway... it was pretty cool to see the band do the script ohio. And the hot chocolate I snuck in wasn't too bad either. The game itself was more interesting in the second half... too bad I was too frozen at that point to really care who won or lost... no I am not a die hard fan. If it were just up to me I would have left after the first quarter (they were going to win anyway, right?). I think the best part was warming up the car afterward... don't get me wrong, it is always more fun to be in the stadium and feel the energy and excitement of the crowd. And see the crazy lunatics who wear nothing in the freezing cold just so they can paint their bodies... anyway... it was fun! And now we're off to Thanksgiving for fun with family and super yummy food... yeah!! Oh yeah... Sunday was Ethan's first day in nursery... it was interesting... He cried for awhile after I left, but that is to be expected. I do wonder how long he would have cried though, if my friend, Julia had not stayed with her daughter and comforted Ethan. Anyway... things are great here in OHIO. Happy Thanksgiving!!

Pumpkins and Skunks

2008-10-26T19:44:00.007-04:00

A few weeks ago we went to the slightly over-hyped Circleville Pumpkin Show. It wasn't all it was cracked up to be, but we still enjoyed ourselves.

Ethan enjoyed some roasted pumpkin seeds...

And this sucker was the largest pumpkin at the show... WOW!

and these are all the seeds from it's insides... okay maybe not. On Monday our family home evening activity was pumpkin carving. Here are the guts. For some reason we didn't take a final picture... hmm...

This week James had some help studying for boards (they're in March, YIKES!)

On Saturday night we went to our ward Trunk or Treat and chili cook-off. It was full of cute kids and yummy chili! I think the little skunk was adorable. And yes, sometimes he is very stinky!

The Critter Control man sure did his job, he caught himself the cutest little skunk in the world.

After the party we went to the OSU vs. Penn State game. On the upside we were able to go with some friends, without a kid and had yummy candy. On the down side OSU lost an uneventful game accompanied by every unintelligent way to express yourself known to mankind (courtesy of our fellow OSU fans). Needless to say there were some sleepy Holts in Sacrament Meeting this morning (not mentioning any names, but his drooling is not due to baby teeth).

Camping and other fun times...

2008-10-05T20:43:00.008-04:00

A few weeks ago we had a wind storm(courtesy of Hurricane Ike)... our neighbors trampoline blew across our yard. We're lucky it didn't hit our house... Our power went out that night for about six hours. Some of our friends didn't have power for a few days. The power outage was quite exciting... Two of my friends and I decided to take a girl's night out and go bowling... Julia didn't want to drive, so she had me drive her SUV. Okay, so driving my little car is a little bit different than driving her big car. And she has touchy brakes. So, anywho... even though we had power there were still parts of the city that didn't. Namely, the bowling alley and surrounding area. Naturally, the traffic lights were out. I didn't notice the first one that was out and almost got us killed. Okay so not really almost killed, but it made for a little bit of excitement. Julia, Casey and I had our hearts racing, but we survived it and were able to sort of enjoy some really hot wings at Applebee's.

The day before the exciting un-bowling trip we went camping with the Hovermales. D.J. being the scoutmaster that he is took us on a nice long hike that night. It really was a nice hike, but we ended up setting up camp in the dark. We were "primitive camping" so of course we didn't have any bathrooms. When it was time for bed (about 11 or so) Casey and I decided that rather than use some unsuspecting bush we'd go use the bathrooms at the family campground. We were given directions and set off on our journey that was only supposed to be like 5 min. We found ourselves out in the pitch black "hollar" all by ourselves without cell service. Wahoo. So even though I'd like to say I'm grown up now... really I"m not. Our girly nerves and over active imaginations really did begin to get the best of us. Thankfully we ALWAYS have an atlas (okay two or three) in our car and were able to find our way out to the highway, lights, and a gas station. When we asked the attendant how to get back to the campground she looked at us like we were crazy and asked if we were really going out there at that time (it was probably around midnight)of night by ourselves. I think she thought we were a couple of crazy reckless teen-age girls looking for trouble. The scary part was this weird guy who asked us where we were going. We hi-tailed it out of there as fast as we could hoping the guy wouldn't come after us. Needless to say he didn't and we lived to enjoy a super yummy breakfast and an exciting non-bowling trip.

And after all that excitement...

General Conference this weekend was wonderful. As I listened to the speakers this weekend and last week at the Relief Society meeting I felt the Holy Ghost testify of the love that my Savior has for all of His children. I have a deepened resolve to strengthen my testimony and faith in Jesus Christ and to share it with others.

Oh p.s. Ethan is FINALLY walking.... sorry the video is sideways...oops

Dams and Grams...

2008-09-07T20:39:00.005-04:00

What did the fish say when he hit the stone wall?..... Dam! (oh so scandalous!) While on our trip to Utah to see Ethan's grandparents (and the rest of the Holt clan) we went with Mom, Ahsla, Kenley and Erin to Beaver Dam just across the state line in Nevada. I guess back in the day they used to go slide down it. But, a few years back a flood washed it out... apparently this was not national news because when we got there, there was no dam. Such is life... We were able to find some shade and enjoy dutch oven cookin' (courtesy of Erin). On the way home we experienced a nice little flat (courtesy of a dirt road).

A few days later... we went and hiked Emerald Pools in Zion National Park with Ashla, Kimball, and Shelley. It was beautiful! We didn't think to take a child carrier so we used our built in ones... James and Kimball's shoulders. After Ethan got his faced whacked a few times by some branches he learned to duck very quickly. He also loved the water....

We enjoyed tennis tournaments on the Wii and movies at Jared and Amy's. Where I lost my glasses.. don't ask me how that happened. James and I had a perfect record against Jared and Kimball (0-5... yeah we're perfect losers).

On Labor Day we went out to the cabin. It made for some good times... we ate yummy food, played rook, went on 4-wheeler rides (I've always wondered what was over that ridge), dug thistles (not quite as much fun, but it wouldn't be a Holt gathering without some good old fashioned work), and we shot guns. I'm sure Dallin and Ryan were chuckling to themselves as James explained to me how to stand and what to do (it was my second time ever... the first was when I was twelve). Mockery turned to amazement when I nailed that poor water bottle (do water bottles have rights?) on my first shot. I think it was beginner's luck. But, of course, James thinks it's excellent instruction.

We enjoyed James' family a ton. We had a great time with them and hope someone gets married soon (ahem, Ashla or Blake) so we can visit again...

What we've been up to...

2008-08-03T20:28:00.010-04:00

The month of July was a blast... we began the month by taking a trip to Charlotte to see Seth, Mary, and Tillie while they were there. It was so good to be with family. Someday we'll be out west again.... Tillie is soooo adorable. One night during dinner Mary asked Tillie, "Are you a girl?" Her reply, "No, I'm a child of God." Cute girl... It was fun going to the park with them and of course eating scrumptious food courtesy of Mary. We love the LeBrauns!

Another time we went to the zoo. Ethan loved the fish. Now every time we go to Meijer he whines if we don't stop to watch the fish and you better believe he puts up a fuss when it really is time to get our groceries. I think they strategically placed those tanks so that kids would get their parents to buy the fish. Tricky tricky... anyway.... we went with some friends of mine and enjoyed watching the animals.

Last week we ran a 5K. It was so much fun. This time James pushed Ethan in the jogging stroller that we were fortunate enough to borrow from some friends. Lots of people were admiring him. Some would guess his age and say, "Oh, is he what 6 mo? 8 mo?" He would be a big eight month old. He enjoyed the attention though. He also enjoyed the dogs. He loves dogs! He barks all the time. Sometimes I wonder if I have a child or a dog.

On Friday we went the Ohio State Fair with some friends. The highlight was eating elephant ears and throwing powdered sugar all over each other... yes we are grown ups now. It was fun. The only sad part is we came too early. The 4-H kids weren't there yet with their animals. They came on Saturday... so we missed the animals... oh well...

And yesterday I canned peaches. It was time consuming, but this winter I'm sure it will be worth it. I'm also planning on canning pears and tomatoes. Wahoo! I'm so proud of myself, I feel so domestic! All seven jars sealed and everything.

Father's Day and Girl's Camp

2008-06-15T20:22:00.002-04:00

Happy Father's Day to all you dads out there. If you asked me I'd have to say James had a great Father's Day! .... Even if he doesn't know it he is an incredible father. I appreciate the love, patience, and kindness he shows to both Ethan and me. He's a great daddy!

For Father's Day I gave James the "opportunity" to tend Ethan while I was at Girl's Camp all week. I think they had fun together. Ethan has been clinging to James more than to me, which has been nice. :)

James did tell me about their library trip. We have been thinking about finishing our basement so James needed some how-to books. It was going to be a quick trip in and out. What real man carries a diaper bag after lunch anyway? What could the kid need? With a stack of books in one arm and a delighted baby on the floor yanking books from the bottom shelf as fast as his chubby little arms could move James found himself in quite the predicament. He quickly swooped Ethan up under the belly in a motion very simliar the the Heimlich. It worked! It dislodged all of Ethan's lunch all over James and the library floor. But a real man does not carry a diaper bag (which would have the all important wipes). Needless to say the 1-ply toilet paper from the public library does not hold up well to baby vomit and carpet.

Yes, they had a great week. And so did I. Although, I was ready to come home. It was nice to be able to sleep in a clean bed and shower without my flip flops.

Fun times...

2008-05-27T16:35:00.006-04:00

DUR HUR HUR

It seems like as soon as it warmed up a little bit we became super busy!! We planted a garden! Wahoo! Well... actually everything I planted at first died! And then thanks to a few friends who planted way too many plants I have some tomatoes and peppers and such and then I re-planted some other things and voila! now I have a beautiful garden. Well, half of it is still in paper cups on my kitchen table... but they too will be in the ground soon!

I have also been super busy with Young Women's. It is fun getting to know the girls a little bit better. We had a beehive sleepover at our house a few weeks ago. I was introduced to the world of Guitar Hero, DDR and Drake Bell (whoever that is). I also showed the girls how to make their own bags. And you know what we should have taken a picture. They did a great job sewing, their bags are darn cute! The next Friday we had the pre-camp clinic for all the YW. It was tons o' fun! We went to our Bishop's place, shot each other with marshmallows (Bishop and his wife used paintball guns and a golf cart - cheaters!), enjoyed tinfoil dinners, cobbler, camp songs, and a great devotional. After the devotional I left the girls and other leaders to the racoons and went home for some beauty sleep. This is Delight shooting a marshmallow into Jennifer's mouth. Yum!

The next day James and I mostly ran the Race for the Cure. It was incredible! The energy downtown was amazing! And the river of people was a sight to see! We are excited to run another 5k sometime this summer. I never really thought running was fun, but truly it is. We had a great time!

This past Friday was Ethan's first birthday. Happy Birthday Sweets! He had some shots, some good food, and a yummy chocolate cupcake for his birthday. What more could a little boy ask for? Sometimes it seems like no time has past since last year, and sometimes it feels like he has been a part of our lives forever. I sure do love that little munchkin!

here comes the sun

2008-04-27T20:59:00.005-04:00

So, recently when people have asked me how I'm doing and I have almost feltsorry to them that I did't have some wild tail of deep despair (you'll have to excuse the dramatic sentiments I just completed my latest reading of Pride and Prejucide. James just can't understand how I can read and watch it over and over again...although I must admit I sometimes skip ahead to my favorite parts(like when Darcy proposes to Lizzie for the first time) anyway...), but then I am so thankful that everything seems to be going just right. My reason for musing on this point is that people often think, "oh you're not really that happy, something must be wrong she just isn't telling me." But, you know what, for this moment I am perfectly contented. That may change tomorrow, but for right now I have so much to be grateful for.

I have the most wonderful husband in the world. For example, tonight while I was cooking dinner he came up behind me and said, "Sweetheart, I should cook dinner more often." I thought, that sounds great! The funny thing is that when I was about to ask for his help I noticed him thoroughly enjoying the Sunday paper. What can you do? I really do think he'll cook dinner more often. What a great guy!!

I also have the sweetest little boy ever (so I know some of you other moms will have to disagree and say that your child is the sweetest ever and that's okay i guess). He loves to give kisses, the only problem is that he hasn't quite learned how to kiss with his lips, rather than his teeth. OUCH!!

James and I are blessed with great families. Even though we don't keep in touch as well as we should, we love them and are appreciative of their love and support. We sure do miss them and are looking forward to seeing some of them this weekend. Thank goodness for weddings and airplanes.

I am also so thankful that it is almost summer time. It is supposed to be cold this week, but then it is May. Wahoo! Good thing I didn't put away all of the winter clothes! I guess I was a little bit flip flop happy! There are few things I love more than flip flops on my feet and the sun on my face, smothered in sunblock of course.

So, I'm grateful nothing exciting is going on. I love living a simple life and enjoying the beautiful outdoors.

Ethan is on the move!

2008-04-06T21:04:00.005-04:00

As you can see Ethan is on the move... he promptly took a nap after this photo...

He's still so cute even when he's sad. We sure are enjoying our little boy. It is so hard to believe he will be one at the end of next month. WOW!

We have been busy lately... Ethan got his first haircut. I did it myself (if you looked at the back of his head you would know). Maybe next time will be a smoother ride. I began with scissors, but that didn't work out too well. Then I tried the clippers which worked a lot better despite him being afraid of them. At least we got the job done. It's a good thing his hair will grow back (but with uncle Seth's hairline maybe not).

James has seen his first semi-real patient, too bad his patient couldn't see him. I'm next. Wish me luck. James tells me I will never see the same again. I can only hope that's a good thing. We enjoyed conference this weekend. It is a good feeling knowing that President Monson is our Prophet. I also particularly enjoyed Elder Oaks, Elder Ballard, and Elder Bednar. I love General Conference and so does Ethan....

Prince Ethan

2008-02-17T20:30:00.005-05:00

One Sunday afternoon after seeing that most of our hard drive was jammed up with pictures of Ethan we paused for a moment and came to the conclusion that we just don't have quite enough pictures of him. Ethan has quite the set up. He has his own space heater on one side of his room and a humidifier on the other. Add that to being spoon fed and being waited on hand and foot we affectionately refer to our son as "Prince Ethan".

Here he is doing his daily push ups. He is on a very strict regimen. We start 'em young around here. :)

And here he is playing airplane with mommy. What a cute airplane!!

2007-12-30T22:08:00.000-05:00

Our little elf.

The four cousins.. James, Angela, Paige and Ethan

Layla and Ethan

Taking a bath

In the ticketing line in Vegas.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!!

2007-12-30T20:58:00.000-05:00

Well, it was a great Christmas! We once again have traveled around the world and back! We flew out on December 11th to go to Portland to visit my family. It was great fun! Ethan was introduced to so many animals you would think we had taken him to the zoo! He liked most of them, except the birds. He liked them until one of them almost nipped him, then not so much. We enjoyed playing settlers with my dad and step-mom and eating Chinese with my Mom, step-dad and brothers. And of course, we got wet in the rain.

On the 18th we hopped on a plane bound for Vegas. Instead of renting a car to make the two and half hour trek to Enterprise we decided to be financially smart and take the St.George Express shuttle (a.k.a. the St.George Sardine Can). We were scrunched in there so tight. There were 11 passengers crunched inside a 12 passenger van. It cannot possibly seat 12 full grown (some overgrown) adults comfortably, not mention our luggage. So yeah, it was interesting to say the least. (After reading this last sentence James said, "you are a woman of understatements, you know that?)

Once we finally made it to Enterprise we were all pretty exhausted! The following days were great! Ethan enjoyed his grandparents, aunts and uncles a whole lot. And they enjoyed him too, I'm sure. And I enjoyed not being the one that had to hold him all day. Ethan enjoyed Christmas. Well I think what he enjoyed most of all was eating the paper.

You'll never believe it, but the day after Christmas we went back to Vegas and caught a flight back to Portland! You're thinking.. that is a lot of flying with a baby.. and you're right! I enjoy Ethan much better on the ground. Anyhow... we went back for Kimball (James' brother) and Shelley's wedding. It was beautiful! It was also great fun to see all of James' family again. And to meet Shelley's family too. We really enjoyed sharing that day with them.

So, yesterday we made the trek home. On the first leg of our flight Ethan was a dream. He smiled and laughed and was just a happy boy. The second leg was another story... it is now nice to be home where he can sleep in the comfort of his own crib.

We hope you all had a Merry Christmas! Have a Happy New Year!

We're back...

2007-10-28T18:27:00.000-04:00

Okay, so, maybe we disappeared for awhile... so long that I had trouble signing in.... hmmm... Anyway... here's the scoop on the holt trio... we spent a long summer traveling, painting, traveling, landscaping, and traveling some more. And what do we have to show for it? One dead tree, three dead mums, a great paint job, some ruined pants (but at least it wasn't the carpet), a few weeds, a well traveled baby boy, and of course some great memories! After all of our summer goings and doings it was a welcome relief for James to begin school again and Ethan and I to settle into a predictable routine. I cannot tell you how predictability makes the world beautiful again! Anyway...

So for the past month we've been introducing Ethan to solids. We thought his first taste of formula-ed down oatmeal was a riot, but it was nothing compared to the disgusted faces he made with green beans. I almost felt sorry for the little guy. Good thing I didn't, 'cause now he likes the pureed mush.

Well, until next time we hope you all have a fun and safe Halloween. And I promise this will be more than just a quarterly blog... until then... take care!

What a blessing!

2007-07-09T12:21:00.000-04:00

On July 1st we had Ethan blessed. Isn't he a darling all dressed in white?

We really appreciated those of James' family who came to join us for the event. We had a great time while they were here. At first we thought there wasn't really anything to do in Columbus... but as we discovered we were wrong. We headed off to Slate Run Living Historical Farm. It is farmed like it would have been in the 1880's.
I don't think they had cell phones back then, but as you can see the cell service was incredible! Possibly, the only one having a real conversation was Dad.

After walking the path to the farm the boys found some old style toys. James and Kenley had fun racing around me on the stilts. We also enjoyed ring toss and pushing around these old lookin' wooden hula hoops. Everyone had a blast. Old Bess even enjoyed the beautiful sunshine.

The greatest surprise of the weekend was Ethan's hair loss. He went from a full head of hair to male pattern baldness in just a few days. Hate to say it, but now he just has a weird looking swirl and a mullet. Yikes! You will be glad to know, however, that the mullet seems to be falling out.

In addition to his mullet loss he is gaining great strength. Just the other day he intentionally punched his lady bug. We were so excited! He is now reaching for things and trying to roll over. Sorry buddy just not quite big enough for that yet. He sure does try though.

2007-06-26T18:14:00.000-04:00

James and I decided to join the world of blogging. We hope you enjoy the pictures.

One of our projects this summer has been to clear the trees out in our backyard so that we can have a backyard. After James and our friend D.J. cleared the trees they had to chop them up and haul 'em off. Now our yard is twice as big! Hooray!

One Sunday afternoon we decided to take Ethan to the park. We're not sure he enjoyed it so much. Can't blame him, it was really warm and muggy.

Here we are at the park. Little Guy is just snoozin' away. He seems to do a lot of that these days.

He's on his way to slumberland after staying all three hours of church for the first time.