Easton's Prayer

This morning I had made Easton some oatmeal for breakfast, and we were going to say a blessing for his food. I let him say it by himself for the first time without helping him, and at first he's just saying a bunch of stuff I didn't understand (I'm sure the Lord did). Then I hear him say Daddy and Joe and Mama and movie. I almost cried because it was the sweetest thing ever! He prayed for us all on his own. We must be doing something right.

Summary of Events

We have had a fantastic week. Christmas was wonderful and fun, and the snow has been a blast. That never happened growing up in Vegas, so having a White Christmas is kind of perfect. Having my hubby here has been so great, and I'm sad that he'll leave again Monday, but excited that he should only be gone for about 2 weeks if all goes well. Then he'll be done! But he sure is nice to snuggle up to each night. Now, it seems like things have finally settled down. It's sad, but nice. It was great to remember that every good thing in my life I owe to my Savior, and to his birth and life and death and resurrection. What a great holiday we had in this home!

Easton's New Room for Christmas

Along with a bike, we got stuff to decorate Easton's bedroom. His room was stark white and bare with a crib in it. So Adam painted it yesterday and today and then we put all the cute stuff in. Easton climbed right into his new bed and said, "Night, Night!" So we assume that he loves it as much as we do. He's getting to be so big, and he needs a big boy room now. The basketball hoop hanging on the wall is a hamper. How cute is that! And I finally got to put up his Easton St. sign that he got when he was born. And the tire above his bed is a clock with an LED light that blinks like a disco light when we turn his light off. He thinks it's amazing!

Christmas Day!

For Christmas we got Easton his first bike with training wheels. He came downstairs and saw the bike, and he was the happiest two-year old ever. He loved his bike, but can't you tell from the look on his face? That was his favorite gift.

Snow on Christmas Eve!!

We were so lucky to have snow a few days before Christmas, and it continued snowing on Christmas Eve. This is my fourth winter in Boise, and I haven't seen snow this many days in a row any of the other winters that I've been here. It was perfect! Easton got to play in the snow and build a fort with his Daddy, who is home for Christmas and we are loving it! Easton was ecstatic when we picked Adam up from the airport, and so were all my nieces and nephews when they saw their dads with Adam. It was so great to see him. All I wanted to do was make out with him!!! Anyway, the top picture is from my backyard and the bottom picture is Easton watching the snow from the living room window.

Little Orphan Easton

This is what I call a homeless child. Easton's shirt is around his waist, and he's got his Dad's beanie on. He's loving his Uncle Joe on the first picture. He is adorable, but he's got no sense of style.

It's Been a Busy Week!

I know that it's been over a week since my last post, but Easton and I went out of town to Vegas and to Disneyland. Well, I went to Disneyland and left him at home with my parents. We left for Vegas on the 11th and made it halfway to Provo and ended up staying with my cute little sister-in-law Sarah. Thanks Sarah! We arrived in Vegas on the 12th, which was Easton's 2nd birthday. I can't believe he's 2! And he's starting to show it. We didn't do much for his birthday since Adam couldn't be there. So we hung out in Vegas and then got up at 4am on Saturday to make the 3 1/2 hour drive to Disneyland. I went with my little sister Becca and her hubby Juddy, my little bro Joe, and my cousin Ryan who was spending his last day before he became a missionary at Disneyland. He's off to Poland! Anyway, Disneyland was great, but the lines were awful. We once waited in line for almost 2 hours to ride Space Mountain, and we vowed never to do that again. I'm glad that I didn't take Easton cause he would have gone crazy standing around in lines all day. So we had a pretty great time. But I must have gained 20 lbs eating foot-long corn dogs and cinnamon rolls and chocolate-dipped bananas. Now we are back home as of Monday night, and tomorrow I will pick up my husband from the airport because he is FINALLY coming back to me!!! He'll leave again on the 31st of December, but that should only be for a couple weeks hopefully. So that's what has been going on this week. Christmas is just around the corner, and I'm not ready for it. So it's going to be another crazy week!

Our Trip to Disneyland

This is the five of us that went to Disneyland - from left to right, Juddy my sister's hubby, me, Joe my little bro, Becca my little sister, and Ryan my cousin.

Just a shot of some of the fun Christmas decorations at Disneyland.

Ryan, me, and Joe on our way to Disneyland

Joe trying to be sexy and Ryan

Don't they look enthusiastic? This is about how we felt every time we had to wait in a dumb line. Our feet were killing us, and Juddy looks pretty tired in the back there. He was driving the whole time.

Tagged Again!

My friend Jamie tagged me, and she wants six facts about me.

1. I was a syncronized swimmer for several years. I must say, I was quite the little swimmer. If ever we are swimming I can show you some of my award-winning moves. That's if I'm brave enough to get my hair wet, and I have to have a pair of sweet nose plugs.
2. I went to college and haven't graduated yet. I had several majors, like English, Journalism, Special Education. I really wanted to go for Occupational Therapy, but then I got married and I haven't lived near a college that has the program. So one day I'll go for Horitculture or at least take some classes. I hope to go back to school some day.
3. When I was younger, I used to have to wiggle my toes ten times when I put my shoes on. I know that's some kind of OCD thing, but I outgrew it. However, I prefer to eat candy like skittles or M & M's in multiples of two. It just feels right that way. (Jamie, you're a therapist. Do I need help?)
4. Before Easton was born, I was a pre-cleaner. I cleaned everything every day before it got dirty so that it couldn't get dirty. When I vacuumed and got the nice lines in the carpet, I didn't like anyone to do unnecessary walking on the carpet. And Adam is a pacer when he talks on the phone, so I would just obsessively watch his feet ruin my lines.
5. I used to think that when you called someone's house and their answering machine came on that you had to leave your message while they were talking and finish before the beep. People never got my messages.
6. I sometimes have big hair because I have a phobia of having flat hair. So I tease my hair and then it looks gigantic, but I don't realize that until I see pictures later on. I have to remind myself that I don't live in the '80's. My sister has the same problem. We call it big-hair syndrome.

I tag Susan, Shiloh, Sarah, Andrea, and Annakaisa.

For My Hubby!

I know that I just did a husband post, but I thought that I might say how much I love my husband. He will be coming home on the 20th of this month, and the days will not go by fast enough. Living without him gets to be so monotonous and so lonely. He is such a fun person to be married to, and we have such a great time being husband and wife. We would never want to go back to dating or being single (I promise you wouldn't, hun). I am at the point of nearly dying from how much I miss him. Honey, I love you, I love you, I love you!! Hurry home to me and Easton.

And, by the way, he's a great husband. He's not always complaining and being stubborn. I hope I didn't make it sound like that in my tag.

I've Been Tagged!!

I haven't seen this Tag yet, so I guess it will be kinda fun. My cousin Trish tagged me, and it's all about my husband. So here you go.

1. What is his name? Adam Spencer Budge (I'm finally okay with "Budge")
2. How long have you been married? It was 3 years on September 4th.
3. How long did you date? It was kind of a long time, but off and on since I broke up with him so much (Sorry, babe). It was about 9 months before we got engaged.
4. Who eats more? Well I eat more of a variety than Adam does since he's the pickiest eater ever. Quantity-wise, I'd say he does, but he isn't a big eater anyway.
5. Who said I love you first? I did. If Adam said it first that would have scared the crap out of me!
6. Who sings better? That's a close one. We both have good voices, like on-tune wise, but he can sing a million different parts in any song. He's got a really good ear. And when he sings "I'll Be Your Crying Shoulder", that's just hott.
7. Who is taller? He's got me beat by a lot. I go to about his shoulders, but I'm a shorty.
8. Whose temper is worse? Adam's temper is worse. I am more moody, but I don't really get angry. He can get angry, though it isn't often that he's actually angry with me. He's not really an angry guy either, though.
9. Who does the laundry? Me, but Adam would say no-one. He thinks that I never do it. He just wears a hundred outfits a day, so it's hard to keep up. I am bad about folding the laundry, though. He hates that.
10. Who does the dishes? Me definitely.
11. Who sleeps on the right side of the bed? I do since we recently switched sides. He said that my side was more comfortable (they were the same).
12. Who does the cooking? Me, but again Adam would say, What cooking? He hates everything, so I don't like cooking for him. I love to cook, but just not for him. I do cook though, I promise.
13. Who is more stubborn? Adam. It's a Budge thing. They are never wrong, even when they are. I can be stubborn in doing the right things. I guess I can be a little stubborn, too.
14. Who proposed? Adam did since he's the man and I'm the woman.
15. Who is more likely to admit when they are wrong? Me, since Adam is stubborn and doesn't ever think he's wrong (but I love you, babe). If he is wrong, then he will admit, but he's really got to be proven wrong with cold, hard evidence.
16. Whose parents do you see the most? His parents, or at least his mom, since they live here in Idaho and mine live in Vegas. We still see mine often, though.
17. Who pays the bills? I do, but yet again Adam would probably say that they don't get paid. We haven't filed bankruptcy yet, so they're getting paid.
18. Who wears the pants in the family? I think we share those pants. I don't feel like I control things, but I don't feel like he controls things either. Maybe our lives are just out of control, who knows?
19. Why do you love your husband? I love Adam because he is so much fun. There is never a dull moment, and if there is he'll liven it up with some dumb comment that always makes me laugh. He is my best friend, the one person that it would be the absolute hardest to live without. I love to hang out with him, sleep next to him, wake up to him, and be with him. I even love to be bored with him cause there's at least something we can always find to do (hint, hint). He is a great dad, carefree, fun-loving, and I love him soooo much! Even more when I have to live without him. Miss you, hun!

Ok, so now I tag Susan, Jen, Shiloh, Kim, Jenni, Amy, and Annakaisa.

Kitchen Curtains

I found some material that I really liked at Walmart, so I bought a yard for $7 and and got two valances out of that. So I finally have curtains in my kitchen, and now my kitchen feels decorated. And I didn't spend anything except the $7!!!

Photo Shoot

I tried doing pictures of Easton a few days ago out at a nice scenic area outside, but he wasn't very good. I have a ton of pictures of him, but I've never actually taken him out and done a session like I do with other people. However, it was freezing! And I was the bad Mom that wanted the good pictures so I made him take his jacket off and sit on the cold metal bench and climb the cold stone stairs. It didn't go that well. His whole goal was to avoid the direction of the camera, so I couldn't get a shot where he was actually looking directly at the camera. Oh well, I guess he was just being natural. And that's always cute, right? I love my Easton!

Easton's Little Compliment

This morning Easton came down into the kitchen, and his eyes went right up to the newly decorated cabinets. He looked for a second at all the stuff and then pointed and said "Pretty!" It made me laugh and smile. I can't believed he noticed! I told Adam, and Adam said, "Oh great, our son is going to be gay."

Kitchen Makeover!!

My sister-in-law Susan came over and hung out with me tonight. Her husband left to Phoenix with my husband too, so we can be widows together along with Jen and Shiloh. Anyway, Susan and I were talking tonight about how plain my kitchen is and how much I wanted to decorate above the cabinets. So with her creativity and stuff that I had laying around my house and in closets or the garage, we decorated the area above the cabinets. Who knew that I had such great things with amazing potential! And Susan is the greatest at being creative with things that I was trying to yard sale. I love you, Susan!!! The pics aren't the greatest - I just took them super fast.

Scrapbooking

I really love scrapbooking, so it's a great perk that my mother-in-law owns ScrapArt. That way I can order things at wholesale prices. She recently held a crop - which was so much fun, by the way - and she is selling some great new paper packs and embellishments. So I thought that I would post the layouts that I did a couple Saturdays ago at the crop. If anyone everyone wants to go, they are so fun. And if you want to checkout ScrapArt, just click on the link under my blogger buds.

Goodbye, My Love!

Adam flew back to Phoenix tonight, and we were all pretty sad that he had to go back already. We had so much fun being together, and we love each other probably more now that we've had to be without each other. It's easy to forget how great someone is when you are with them every day, but I have not forgotten. We put up the tree this weekend and spent a lot of time together loving each other and just having a good time. Now it's time to hang out with the other abandoned women I know and take my mind off my husbandless life.

Any takers on seeing August Rush? It would be fun to go out. Adam said it looks gay, so I'll of course be seeing it with those that appreciate gayness, I guess.

Getting the Tree Up

This is the fireplace all decorated for Christmas. We don't have a lot of Christmas decor yet. This is actually all that we have in this picture.

Here is my gigantic tree. This tree is 9 feet tall and just enormous all around. I think that we have over 200 ornaments on the tree. We love how huge it is, though. It just takes forever to put up and take down.

Just another shot of the tree and the fireplace in the background. We added green ornaments to the tree this year. Before, we had always just done blue, white, and silver, but we needed more ornaments and more color.

Thanksgiving Weekend

Well, it's been a nice weekend. Thanksgiving was at my house this year. There were about 22 people here, and there was a ton of great food. I ate a lot. Adam was home, so that was great to be able to spend the day with him. Over the weekend we went out to breakfast and out to a movie, put the tree up, did a little bit of shopping, and really just enjoyed some family time. We are so blessed with great families and friends. Easton and I are so excited that we've been able to see Adam before he has to leave again tomorrow, but he'll be back for Chrsitmas. Until then, there will be a lot of girls' nights. I am happy that we had such a great time and great holiday!

Thanksgiving at my house!

This is my Beautiful Easton enjoying a lovely Thanksgiving with his cousins.

This is Riley, Ian, and Easton. Easton is at the age where he loves to follow these two around and do whatever they do.

My in-laws are just a little obsessed with the whole day after Thanksgiving shopping thing. They spent the entire time after we ate looking at ads. They're a little nuts. They went to the mall at 9pm when it didn't even open until 1am. Crazy!

The two on the left are Susan's twins, Abby and Maddie. The little red-head is Clara, Shiloh's litttle girl. They are the best of friends!

Watching some Thanksgiving football (and my cute hubby in the white!)

Quote of the Day

I love quotes, so I thought that I might put some on my blog for all to benefit from.

"Discipleship does not guarantee freedom from the storms of life. Even as we are wending our way carefully and faithfully along the strait and narrow path, we encounter obstacle and challenge. There are days,perhaps even months and years, when life is just hard. We experience our fair share of adversity, heartache, loneliness, pain, grief--sometimes, it seems more than our fair share.
"What to do when adversity strikes? There is only one thing to do. Stand steady and see it through. Stay steadfast, constant, and true. The real tragedy in the whirlwinds of life comes only when we allow them to blow us off our true course."

(David S. Baxter, "Faith, Service, Constancy," Ensign, Nov. 2006, 14)

More Good News!!

I am working on potty training Easton, and it's been okay so far. I guess today was really the only day that I actually worked on it. But my grown up boy pooped on the potty for his second time today. I am so pleased! He's not 2 until December, but I'm hoping that I can get a head start on this whole potty training thing. Diapers are too expensive! Yay for Easton!

Good News!!!

This morning we woke up to snow! There wasn't a lot, and it was melted by noon and sunny by 1pm, but it was still snow. It's been in the 70's in Vegas, 80's in Phoenix, and snowing in Boise. Crazy! The good news is that I am picking Adam up tomorrow morning at 11am from the airport. He's coming home for Thanksgiving, and we CAN'T WAIT to see him! It is the greatest thing ever to see your spouse after not seeing him for a long time. I am so excited. I can't wait to see my foxy man!

Playing with lights

My friend Kim came over today , and we took out my studio lights and played around with them. I took some of our kids together and some of Easton by himself. I have plenty of time to post every day, so why not post these? I know people believe their children are cute, but mine takes the cake. God made him perfectly beautiful. Just look at his face, those big brown eyes, and tell me you don't agree! Oh, Kim's girls are gorgeous too, but she already knows that.

Bath Time is the Best Time

Easton LOVES his bath. They are typically an hour long because I cannot get him to get out. He is so adorable playing in the water and pouring it all over him. He is so much fun to watch in the bath, so I thought I'd share these great moments.

Me and My Boy

I know you're porbably wondering why this picture looks so funky. I'm a photographer but I don't have one good picture of me and Easton. I was using my timer on this one but wasn't sitting low enough in the frame to get the proper exposure, and it's way too hard to take a good picture of myself. So this is a result of photoshop, and it will have to do (I refuse to have another photographer take my pictures - I'm not paying for that!).

I'm Going to Go Crazy!!

So what does one do when they don't have a husband around? It's only been three days, and I already feel like there is no point to my life. I don't work. I just raise a child all day and clean my house and cook dinner for my siblings that are so kind to visit me each day. But the highlight of my day, and Easton's too, is when Adam comes home. That's when the fun begins. So what do we have to anticipate if my hubby doesn't come home? I don't remember how to be single. And I'm not even single, so I can't enjoy the single life with a 2 year old and wedding ring. Not that I even want to be single. What do women do when their husbands are in the military? I think that I'd go crazy. I know I would. I watched Biggest Loser all by myself tonight. How sad! It seems the computer and I are going to be best buds for a while. It will have to keep me company on these lonely, quiet nights.

Pictures from My Parents' Visit

A Visit From My Parents

My parents and my younger sister and her hubby came to visit for a week. They spent the week playing with Easton and my new little niece Jaedyn. My dad is a fisherman living in the wrong city. They came up from Las Vegas. He loves it here, so he spends a lot of his time fishing at the river behind Quizno's in Eagle. We went with him one day so he could show Easton the ropes. My family left yesterday right before my hubby left, so it was a sad day at my house. I was completely abandoned!

I'm All Alone!!!!

Well, yet again, my husband has desserted me and Easton. On Friday he came home from work and told me the good news that he was leaving for 2 months on Sunday. I nearly died! We were just apart for August and September while he worked in Phoenix, and now he has gone back again with the rest of the owners to get the Phoenix office running smoothly. So I am the most depressed person ever. I married a man who wasn't supposed to travel, and then he up and opens a company with his brothers. The first time that he left for two months was enough, and we haven't even been home for 3 weeks yet! I'm going to go crazy without him. They hope to be done before Christmas or it's back to Phoenix for the New Year. Keep your fingers crossed that all goes well so that my lover can come back to me quickly!

Budge Family Pics (Not Mine)

I did some family pics of my in-laws this weekend, and I love them. So I'm going to share them, as a means of advertising. Family pics anyone?

Guess I got tagged

My sister-in-law tagged me a while ago, but I forgot about it. So I guess I'll do that now. I'm supposed to list 6 things about myself.

1. I am a photographer, which mostly anyone that knows me already knows. But I love photography, so much so that I usually give my services away for free, and Adam gets mad at me for that. He gets mad because my camera cost A LOT of money, and it isn't paid off yet. So he says no more free work until it's paid off. And then I need to be a big girl and charge people who aren't blood relatives. Sorry!

2. Once I was an English major. Now, whenever I read things that people have written, grammatical errors drive me crazy. So, be aware that when I read your blog I'm looking for mistakes. Are the commas in the right places? Did you use run-on sentences? I'll know.

3. I exercise to feel good, not to be thin. I get tired of everyone worrying about how thin they are and who lost the baby weight the fastest. Maybe I'm just jealous because I'm not on that list. Seriously though, I love to work out because I enjoy feeling good and healthy.

4. I want to be a carpenter. I want to build amazing things that I see in Pottery Barn magazines but for a fraction of the cost. If anyone knows where I can learn to do that or wants to learn to do that with me, let me know. Then we can be amazing self-sufficient women together.

5. If I had to choose only one person to be on the earth with, I would pick my husband. He is my favorite person to be bored with. I don't like to do really fun things without him, so that's why I don't like to do a girls' night out when I could be doing something else with Adam. I really like him.

6. I'm not a good budgeter. I want to be, and I say that I am, but Adam reminds me that wanting to be and being are not the same thing. I can pretty much swipe a credit card for things that I "need" without much hesitation or regret. I know that's so bad, but sometimes you just want to go out to dinner without worrying about it. We're on a budget now, though. I've promised to never touch my credit cards again. That means Adam can't either.



There's 6 things about me, and I'm supposed to tag someone. I don't think I will though. I hope you found these 6 little tidbits of information informative.

Halloween!

Well Easton had a GREAT time trick-or-treating with his cousins last night. And he didn't mind his chicken costume at all. Trick-or-treating is so fun in our neighborhood. The streets are just crawling with children like you would see in a cute little Halloween movie. Everyone loved our little chicken. I wasn't going to give Easton any candy since he isn't allowed to eat sugar, but he saw a bag of skittles and cried for it, so I gave it to him. I didn't open it because I was just going to let him think that it was a toy, but a few minutes later I came into the family room and he had bitten a hole in the bag and was enjoying himslef some skittles. But we brushed his teeth really well last night, so no cavities for him. And no more candy either!

"Bok-Bok"

Here is Easton in his chicken costume for Halloween. And he kind of hates it. He likes to carry it around, but when we put it on him he wants it off. I think that he'll do okay tomorrow night for trick-or-treating since he'll be outside having a good time, and all his cousins will be dressed up with him. At least I'm hoping that he'll keep it on, or I just wasted my money. I was trying to do a nice photo shoot of him in his "Bok-Bok", as he calls it, but he just ran around tugging at his costume trying to get it off. So these are the best pictures that I could get of him. That's ok, he makes everything look good.