Thanksgiving in Orem, UT

This year we made the trek down to Orem for Thanksgiving. We have decided to trade off holidays as much as work will allow. Luckily for me my work weeks for the last several years have given me both Thanksgiving and Christmas off. We received an invitation in the mail for the holiday feast and were instructed to arrive early for a special project. Michelle's brother Cameron, his wife, and little girl were in town for the holiday so we had everyone there except for Chelsea who was in Indiana with her Darren's family and Jill and Brian's family who stayed in Oregon. Grandma and Grandpa Woolley along with the twins also joined us for the occasion.








Once everyone had gathered at the house it was revealed that we would be doing a service project. We collected some rakes, brooms, gloves, and garbage bags and headed to two older couples houses to rake the leaves and clean up their yards. It was fun to perform service together and help someone else out. After we finished the two homes it was decided that Glenn and Carol, Michelle's parents, needed some work done at their house. We made the most of the opportunity and let Candice play in the leaves and Dy and Brett with their new addition Bracken, took some family pictures



Once the service activity was over we enjoyed a wonderful meal. It is always fun to get together, but it is even more fun when you are eating. I don't think anyone left the table hungry, but if they did it was their own fault.

The Martins never have a Thanksgiving without playing some games. We usually get a good game of Thanksgiving BINGO going, but this year we changed it up and played two very funny games. The first was finding the turkey turds/shoot the turkey game. The game was set up like an Easter egg hunt, Carol hid bags of sugar babies (turkey turds) all around the backyard. We were all put in pairs with one of us being a hunter and the other being a turkey. The turkeys would have to search and find the turds and when they found them they would have to make a gobble sound to alert their hunter to pick up the turds. If another hunter was alerted before the original hunter could pick the turds up, they could shoot the turkey (with a mini rubber bow and arrow) and claim the turds for themselves. The goal was to pick up as many turds as possible. You had to be there to fully understand how much fun it was. It was more fun just to watch as Michelle flapped her arms and made weird sounds.

The second game was pinning the gobbler on the turkey. This is a variation on the pin the tail on the donkey game. We were each given a piece of bubble gum and asked to chew it. We then took out our gum and made it in the shape of a gobbler. Then one at a time we were blind folded, spun around several times, and then asked to pin the gobbler/gum on the turkey. This was even more fun to watch and perhaps just slightly more disgusting if you thought about the possibility of putting your hand in someone else's chewed gum. I must say this Thanksgiving was another success. We look forward to it in another two years.

Andrew's (Our) New Car

As many of you know, Andrew got his first car in 2004. It was a 1996 Kia Sophia that he bought from one of his friends in Arizona. It has been an amazing car but decided that we should probably get a new dependable car before the baby was born. Andrew has been so good to drive his old car without any complaints. I have only driven it a few times and every time I am praying to make it to my destination safely.

Well, on a cold, snowy November day, Andrew’s dream came true and he got a brand new Honda CRV. We had decided that we wanted a cross-over car and so Andrew had been doing a ton of research on all of the different cars. This information was placed in an excel sheet so we could compare each of the cars. After evaluating all of our options we narrowed our pick to 6 cars and decided to go and test drive each of them. My family is suckers for Hondas and so I am sure that is part of the reason why we got the CRV.


Well, this Honda CRV is not the usual basic car-it came with a lot of whistles and bells because it was the show room model. Andrew and I knew that we wanted a black car and finding a black CRV was almost impossible. Several times throughout the day, Andrew recommended that we just buy one online and wait the 2 months for it to be made. I had not been feeling well and after 2 hours of negotiating with the dealership they did what I wanted and I signed the dotted line. Andrew reminds me all of the time that I was the one that signed the dotted line. So, in the end, Andrew and I were both happy. He got the built in DVD player, navigation system, and sun roof, and I got the tinted windows and 20 inch rims. After not sleeping for 2 weeks after the purchase, I am now happy.

Drum Roll Please............... It's a...

Now I can't remember, was it a girl or was it a boy. I just hate when that happens. Oh well if you really want to know you'll just have to watch the ultrasound below.

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Vidoeo of the Gender

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Were you able to tell?

If not let me give you a hint.

It rhymes with

TOY

You guessed it,

IT's A

Michelle and I are so happy and the best thing is that the baby looks healthy. We are excited for the next few months to pass and our little guy to get here.

Welcome..... Three new members to the Family

So this weekend has been exciting with the arrival of three new members to both our own family and extended family. The first arrival was our new chest freezer, all 7.2 cubic feet of pure frozen tundra. One would think that we wouldn't have room in our little apartment, but we make space for our priorities.

The freezer in its first and new home. The corner.

Our empty freezer, but not for long

The second arrival was a quarter of a cow. You may be wondering how we got only a quarter of a cow. Easy, all you have to do is raise it, kill it, and then cut it into quarters. OK, we didn't do any of that ourselves, but our friend Jed's family did. A few weeks ago Shan and Jed offered us a deal on half a cow, not an actual half a cow, but half a cow cut up into smaller pieces. Being the meet lovers that we are we said sure. Jed's family has a farm and we knew that the beef would be some good stuff. After a little thinking we thought half a cow would be too much for just the two of us so we settled for just a quarter. In the end we ended up with close to 200 lbs. of pure beef which included hamburger, roasts, ribs, steaks, and other cuts of beef. Now for a second you might have wondered where we would put a quarter of a cow, but then you remember that we just bought a new freezer (you should by now realize the true reason for buying a freezer). We are truly happy about this addition and tonight we are going to enjoy a huge T-bone steak for dinner. We'll let you know how divine it is.

Our freezer now half way filled with pure beef.

Close up of our pure beef.

For the last year and almost a half we've been taking advantage of having Michelle's grandparents living next door by using space in their garage freezer. It has been nice because Michelle likes to buy me frozen meals for my lunches when I work. She only buys then when they are on sale, so when they are she buys a lot. We have appreciated the grandparent's rent free food storage, but we've decided it time to become adults and store it ourselves.

Our freezer now full with the stuff we've been hiding in the grandparent's freezer.

Now for the final arrival...... Baby Bracken Carl Valdez son of Brett and Dyana Valdez. Michelle's sister Dyana gave birth to their first child just minutes after getting to the hospital. I will let them share the details, but we are excited for the both of them and think Bracken is just the cutest baby ever. We can wait to get one of our own in March, but that is so far away. For now we will just be content with finding out the sex of our baby this Wednesday. Keep your eyes out for a post later that day.

Bracken Carl Valdez

So little

Bracken getting his first diaper change from his father Brett.

Michelle with her newest nephew

Just five more months till I'm a Dad. It can't come soon enough.

Another Weekend Come and Gone

So another conference weekend has come and gone and it didn't come without its little adventures. First Scott flew in from Arizona for a missionary reunion. His mission president had just returned home and after being home for two years himself, Scott was anxious to catch up with the Pres. and some missionary companions. With missionary reunions, the BYU vs. USU game, and those arriving for conference, it only took us two hours to get from my apartment to Orem, UT. Yes, you heard me right, two hours. Scott said it was the longest he had ever spent in traffic in his whole life. Scott dropped me off at Michelle's parent's house while he went to his reunion about an hour late. During the next half hour I was met by Dy, Glenn, Carol, and Michelle. We all went to Red Lobster to celebrate Glenn's birthday and just because I really wanted to eat the all you can eat shrimp. It was really good. When we got home from the restaurant Chelsea and Darren arrived from Idaho. It was fun to have them home. After a good nights sleep we woke up, had some waffles and bacon, and then all piled around the ten inch TV, yes once again you heard be right, ten inches. Very small. So small in fact that we ended up having to turn on the radio to listen to conference. Between sessions Michelle and I decided to start our first project for the baby, making a quilt for the baby. Since we still don't know the sex of the baby we went with materials that are a little more unisex, but I have to admit we did good. After a good beginning on our project and the end of the second session of conference Russell, Ben, Tina, Grandma, Grandpa, and Nana came over. Us boys including my brother Scott, Darren, and Glenn were going to eat dinner together and then go to the priesthood session while the girls went to a baby shower for Nicole, Russell's wife. After the session we all hung out talking and eating home made cheesecake back at the Martins. We were pleased to have Rachael and Steve join us after their trip back from St. George. Rachael had run the marathon that morning. We were proud of her hard work. It is quite an accomplishment. After it all settled down Michelle and I returned home. Sunday morning came fast. We went to Rachael's apartment to say goodbye to Scott before he returned to Arizona. We turned on conference and completed our projects which included one baby blanket, two mini baby blanket so you don't have to take the whole blanket everywhere, and two burp clothes. I am proud of it all, especially since I did most of the work. You can ask Michelle and she'll tell you. We plan on making more items to have a matching baby room set. We'll just need a room to put it in. The weekend was a good one, but as always went by way too fast. Michelle and I are excited as October 14th is coming soon and we will find out what the gender is of the baby. We will be sure to post something as soon as we know.

Rachael with a friend before the marathon

Rachael just after finishing the marathon

Rachael with her number one supporter Steve after the race

Rachael, Scott, Michelle, and Andrew before Scott leaves for the airport

Rachael, Scott, Michelle, and Andrew trying to be from the hood

Scott and Andrew looking good

Michelle cutting the squares for the baby blanket

Andrew sewing the baby blanket

Almost the finished product

The finished products, Baby blanket, two mini blankets, and two burp clothes

We can't believe......Surprise!

We're gonna be………… Parents!!!

With a due date of March 10th 2010, Michelle is almost 16 weeks along. Now I know it is a surprise to many of you especially with Michelle being so far along and us making excuses every time someone asked us when or if we were ever going to get pregnant, but its true. I’m sure the not now’s or after we know what’s going on with my life and school responses had begun to wear out. Anyway over the last two weeks we have been trying to tell as many people in person as possible without it getting out to the whole world, but now that both sets of our parents have the word we are free to tell everyone else.

Our Dollar Store good news giver

Michelle didn’t have many complaints during the first trimester and had very few moments of sickness. We hope that the rest of the pregnancy goes just as well, but Michelle thinks its just a little time before things get bad for her. We had an ultrasound at twelve weeks and everything looked good and the heart sounded great. The baby has already measured five days ahead of our due date so it might turn out to be a big one. If you are wondering if it will be a boy or a girl, find out on October 14th when we have the ultrasound to find out the gender. Michelle and I can’t wait.

Just a small clip of the baby at 12 weeks

To keep you all busy reading, below is a list of several ways that we have told various family and friends about the little one.

Nettie (Michelle’s Sister)- She was the first one Michelle had to tell, Michelle lasted 12 weeks without saying a word so I figured she deserved to tell someone. I had placed a copy of the ultrasound video from earlier that day on my computer and told Nettie we had a scary video to show her. The video started playing with the baby moving and Nettie just looked at the screen with no response (she was waiting for something to pop out at her). After a few moments she reads Michelle’s name at the top of the screen, reads the name out loud, asks, is this a joke, while we just smiled at her. Seconds later she starts to scream which lasted several minutes. It was hilarious. Since that day she has been bugging us to be able to tell everyone.

Martin Family (Michelle’s Family) - Michelle and I invited her family over for dinner to enjoy some of the salmon I had caught earlier in the week in Oregon. Before we say the prayer Michelle tells her mom she got her a trinket from Oregon. Carol opens the bag and pulls out a piece of clothing. It is a onesie with a picture of the ultrasound on it and the words “Expect me on March 10th, 2010”. Even before reading it she starts to scream. The rest of the family starts laughing and giving congratulation, two minutes later Glenn, her father, says, “your pregnant?” followed by more laughter from the family. After dinner Carol wanted to call everyone and Grandma Woolley wanted to know when she could email the world the good news.

Ben, Debbie, Julie, Kim, and Mark (The ones who set us up on our first date) - When it was time to bless the food, Ben asks me to say the prayer. I give the more frequent or familiar thanks and blessing, but at the end I add, “please bless mine and Michelle’s new baby, in the name of….., amen.” Michelle has her eyes open and sees Kim and Debbie’s eyes open with surprise. I open my eyes and see Ben with a blank look on his face. After a few moments of letting it sink in, congratulations and a few I thought you were pregnant were expressed.

Friends at the Office Party - A group of our friends throw an Office party at one of their new houses. Michelle bakes cupcakes and decorates them with pink and blue frosting. Mark asks why the pink and blue cupcakes? Shan jokingly says because Michelle is having twins, Michelle says no I’m not having twins. Shan says, what do you mean you’re not having twins. Michelle responds with I’m pregnant. Everyone laughs for a few moments before they realize what she’s just said. Again the girls scream with excitement.

Cardon Family (Andrew’s Family) - With all of my siblings and Mom together for lunch I tell my mom that I want to show her a video of the fish I caught in Oregon. I hand her my iPhone with the video of our ultrasound. My mom looks at the video and then says, that’s not a fish. A second later she realizes what she’s looking at and asks in awe, are you pregnant? The rest of the family hears the question, hears Michelle’s response, and then begin to do the girls thing. Later after my dad gets home from work we show him the same onesie we had given to Michelle’s family.

Our FHE group (A group of young couples that meet several times a month) - In the middle of normal conversation half way through the evening I say, “So in terms of announcements, Michelle and I are expecting.” The group looks at me in silence wondering what we’re expecting as if I hadn’t finished my sentence. After a brief pause one of them asks if I’m kidding. I say no and everyone begins to talk at once. Two of the couples with babies have been waiting for us to join them.

Rachael modeling the onesie we gave to Michelle's Mom and my Dad

Michelle and I have enjoyed sharing the news with everyone and are grateful for all the love, support, and joy that everyone has shown toward us. We will be sure to keep you all posted as things progress. If this post hasn’t quenched your thirst for adventure, be sure to check out the other 8 posts we have added in the last two days.

P.S.- If any of the above stories need correction or are missing any important information, please let me know.

Trip to Arizona

So I haven’t been back to Arizona since last Thanksgiving and my sisters had begun to wonder whether I liked them or not, so I decided I did like them and that I would make a visit this past week off. I drove half way right after work on Tuesday and stopped to take a rest at our friend Owen’s house, the same one who takes us river rafting, in Page, Arizona. Michelle couldn’t get Tuesday or Wednesday off so I was by myself. Since Owen didn’t get in till late that night he offered to take me on a morning Mountain Biking trip. I said yes, but was in for an adventure. Needless to say I’m not in shape like I use to be and struggled a little, but I did enjoy myself. We decided we would go hiking the next time I visited. After a quick breakfast I finished the drive. To make the trip even better both Michelle and Rachael flew in Thursday night as a surprise to the rest of the family. You should have heard Christin scream when she saw the two of them at the front door of Emily’s place. We enjoyed spending time together, since it had been almost two years since the last time we had all been together. We caught up on life, ate good food, visited with grandpa Gaisford, ate good Bahama Bucks, and just relaxed. To finish it off we took a visit to see Mita at her rest home. And all got together for one last dinner. The trip has been great and the three of us are dreading the drive back home, but once again we need to get back to reality. Why do we have to work!? We really enjoyed the visit and will be returning for Christmas in just a few months.

Andrew and Michelle with Mom and Dad Cardon

Some of the Fam

The Fam again

From oldest to youngest. Christin, Becky, Emily, Andrew, Rachael, and Scott

The Sibling pyramid

The huge, very nice house where Mita lives.

Michelle, Andrew, Emily, and Rachael visiting Mita. She looked so good.

Trip to Oregon

After almost a year and a half since the last visit to Medford, OR we decided it was time to visit once again. We had the opportunity to see Brian, Jill, and the kids several times over the summer months, but there’s nothing like making the trek to the north. We arrived Friday midday at the cabin where we enjoyed a hot dog lunch while the kids played laser tag. We then got in our swim suits and played a little with all of the water toys. We then had some fish for dinner and then continued with fishing at the lake with the kids. I was the only big kid that really wanted to fish, but we caught a few small ones. The next morning we hung out, watched some movies, talked, and then had lunch. After a quick clean up we headed to the house just about 45 minutes away. We visited the farm to see the horses, pick some blackberries, and feed the bees. Sunday we had church and then dinner with Brian’s parents, but before dinner we each got a turn driving in their new Honda convertible. Jill took the girls and Brian took me. Even though it had been many years since driving a stick shift, Brian was insistent that I give it a try. I enjoyed the opportunity. For our last day Brian took me fishing on the Rogue river while the girls hung out. For my first time of real fishing I didn’t do too bad. I hooked two fish that got away, but half way through I was able to catch two more. One was pretty big and the other about half its size. Since we went fishing a little sooner than we thought I forgot sunscreen so I was a bit redder than I wanted to be. To make matters worse it was just on one side of my body. Putting the pain aside it was worth it. After a nice roast dinner at Brian’s parents we headed back to the house for our final night. Early Tuesday morning we got in the car and headed home to start work once again. Jill and Brian thanks once again for opening your home to us. We always enjoy a good visit.

Jill, Nettie, and Michelle hanging out on the dock

Nothing like a little ring around the rosie

Jill and Michelle on the kayak. Don't work too hard Michelle

We might be a little too heavy for the water tramp

One of the huge fish we caught at the lake. I mean look at the size compared to those hemostats.

Jill knows how to handle those fish.

Lizzy, Sophie, Ethan, and Andrew with the catch of the day.

Fishing at the lake

Michelle, Jill, and Nettie

Now the pro fishing. The biggest fish I have ever caught.

The second biggest fish I have ever caught.

Celebrating Sophie doing all of her reading assignments over the summer.