September

I haven't posted in a while and things have just been weird lately. Three weeks ago, Phil was let go from his job at EDS. We have been job hunting and applying for anything we see, but no luck so far. He has a promising interview next week, but training for this job won't start until November 24th...way too long for us to be without income. We have decided to move back in with his mom for a few months so that we can get back on our feet. Not something i necessarily want to do, but things will all work out in the end. I just grabbed some pictures of stuff that has happened in September, so you can see what we've been up to and how much our son has grown! Above: Aiden has adjusted perfectly to his Toddler bed. I was very worried about the transition, but he has always been such a good sleeper that it went so smooth. Now he will get up and play for a while in the morning and I can get about 30 more minutes of sleep!

Monday through Wednesday, I babysit a little girl who is three months younger than Aiden. For the most part, they get along great, they of course have their moments, but its very nice that I can help with income and stay home with Aiden.

Bath time is one of the favorite times in Aiden's little world right now. He is getting so animated with his toys; he talks to them and makes them walk around or hop around...its so silly!

One of our favorite cousins, Susan, was able to make a visit to Boise recently and we had them over for a little while. Aiden and Paul played well together, and they like to give each other hugs. I think Paul was having more fun than Aiden!

Phil loves loves loves the rain. We had a dry spell for a while in Boise, but one day it just decided to rain all day. Phil was so happy, he wanted to go for a walk but he couldn't go alone, so his buddy went with him. Aiden loved it to! We walked down to my mom's house, about 1/2 mile away, and Aiden walked the whole time...I couldn't believe that he could walk that long and he didn't cry or ask to be picked up the entire way.

When we got to my mom's they were painting their basement and Aiden wanted in on the fun. They bought him a little mini roller and let him to go town on one of the walls. I think when it was all said and done, he had more paint than his little section of wall. But he had fun hanging out with papa and nana.

So, that is it for right now. I will keep everyone posted about the job situation and hopefully we can be back on our feet again soon. Thanks for all your support!

I'm so excited, and I just can't hide it!

So, I'm dangerously close to just starting my own blog. We would have 2, one for cute family stuff, and one for me and my adventures and wild imagination...let me know if any of you have an opinion...

Anyway, I found something online while I was making my Christmas list that caught my eye and now has engaged my obsession...

Again, it's another one of those ideas that you have and think "man, I'd make a billion million dollars if I could make that" and then you see it in a store and just feel like you missed out on your winning lottery ticket.

It's a pair of shoes that you can hike or climb or swim or run in. Except, they are like toe socks.

I have ALWAYS run faster barefoot. It's easier to get propulsion when you're bounding off your toes and not the ball of your foot.

I wanted a shoe that would let me pick something up with my toes, would let me feel what I'm walking on, or let me hang from a tree a strangle my prey with my feet!

This is exactly what I want.

For the love of all that is good and holy...Someone needs to get me these for Christmas. Either that or Injinji Outdoor sock. Both of which I will need in order to start my own reality TV show.

I intend to make Bear Brylles in the forest look like child in a jungle gym. We'll call it Feral Phil and I'll eat bugs and drink poo juice and all that stuff he does. That's what it takes to be a man, right? I'll bet he's never even HEARD of the bravery test...

Bravery Test

One day, in the glorious apartment of bachelors, we had the hankering to prove our manhood to eachother. We had heard tales of the "bravery test". Of course, this piqued our curiosity at its sheer mention and we decided we must do it.

Many years later, the same group of men gathered together in a smaller apartment, as friends, a band of brothers, and we took it upon ourselves to renew the embarrassing bond that drove us together so long ago.

However, being a boy is a messy business fraught with danger and useless peril. So, we gathered the ingredients for disaster...a plate of water, bread, paper towels, a lighter, and several large glasses...

This is just as bad as it sounds.

We all took our shirts off, which was blinding for most everyone in the room when I took my shirt off and the mood quickly turned to awe inspiring when Mason and Ammon removed their top layers. The perfectly sculpted bodies of solid muscle and chiseled features made the rest of us uncomfortable with ourselves.

Anyway, follow along with this easy to read, step by step guide to manhood.

The Bravery Test

1. Soak bread in the plate of water and place on your stomache, ABOVE the belly button (if applicable).

2. Light the paper on fire. Let it get a good fire going...

3. Cover the ball of fire with a glass, works best with mason jars, but anything with a wide enough mouth will work.

And there you have it. You're a man.

The wet bread is to protect your stomache from burning. The burning paper is to suck all the oxygen out of the glass when you cover it. After you cover it, your stomache gets vacuumed into the glass by quite a bit. It's a very disorienting and almost scary feeling. DO NOT GET IT ON YOUR BELLY BUTTON. YOU WILL COME UNDONE AND SPILL YOUR INTESTINES.

Afterward, you stand up and try really hard NOT to laugh or make a muscle because it hurts when you resist the suction.

Enjoy, and sorry about the topless photos.

Sawtooth Trip 08

August 14th...4 men "allegedly" drove from Boise to Stanley Idaho in search of strange and mythical creatures said to inhabit the wilds of the Sawtooth Mountains.

Leaving their families with only faint hopes of their return some 4 days later. They could only dream that these men would come back the same as they left. However, nothing could be further from the truth. They would come back, oh yes, but as mere facsimiles of who they were before. They would be changed. Into something...greater.

Shortly after arriving, they discovered this would be no ordinary trip. One of the adventurers, Dave Norris, had brought a musical instrument designed to entice the beasts to the camp in an effort to get a better look, or possibly to capture a live specimen. The others armed themselves with wooden sticks they carved straight from standing live trees the size of grain silos, and with their bare hands.

The group made base camp, prepared for several day hikes out of the area in pursuit of the mindless killing machines they were here to find. The camp was chosen to allow only anticipated points of attack, so the group was aware of their weaknesses and were ready for anything.

They had all mentally and physically prepped for this mission. Not a detail had been missed. Phil and Dave did not forget a first aid kit, water shoes, or good bug spray. They did however bring a strong scented asphyxiation utility which does not repel insects at all...which is, of course, the point. The two hunters wanted to acclimate themselves to the woods. If the bugs left them alone, they would make themselves obvious. The bugs landed on their flesh, but at that close proximity, they could not breathe and they flew away almost immediately. The 20+ bug bites they endured were self inflicted to fit in.

On one of the treks from base camp, the party decided to split up. They formed ranks based on those with ridiculously long legs and those who are shorter and must run to keep up. For this reason, Jered and Matt decided to take point and lead the scouting party while Dave and Phil followed further behind, ready to provide backup and cover fire. This was the sole reason for them to lag almost a quarter mile behind the entire hike up to Imogene. No sightings were found on this hike to the higher elevations...but there was another hike on the day previous that DID produce some satisfactory results...There was a small lake (Upper Hell Roaring) after a steep climb to get to it. Phil Norris has been reported to have "smoked them like a cigar" when referring to the 3 other men on the climb with him. After arriving at the lake, and securing the area, Jered and Matt proceeded to empty the lake of all edible life. The only survivors were those who were deemed unfit for eating and were therefore released at the whim of their captors.

This photo (above left) was in fact taken of Phil as he was quite possibly drowning

on the swim out to a top secret island in the middle of this highly secluded body of water in the upper elevations of the Sawtooths (see below).

The monsters in question were nowhere to be found in this area. Although, they rarely show themselves in the daytime.

After this climb, Jered went for a swim in a shallow stream with his boots on. None of the other men clearly witnessed what happened next, but it appears that a "beast" may have launched itself from the depths of the babbling brook to drag Jered to his doom. Having been trained in the dark arts of martial defense, he fought off his assailant. But not without injury...

As you can clearly see here, this journey was fraught with peril and dangerous creatures. After 24 hours of being in the high mountain climate and thin air, the men started showing signs of dementia and insane thought. They made rash decisions about exactly WHAT they would do for $1 million, which super powers would be best suited for daily living, and...most importantly...HOW TO RECOGNIZE A VAMPIRE IF YOU ARE BEING HUNTED.

This, after all, was the reason they were there. They were hunting the most elusive and dangerous of all creatures, the bane to human existence, the vampire. This was the only photographic evidence of a vampire they found on the trip. It later turned out to be Matt, who was not drinking blood from a Nalgene at all. It was simply rasberry Crystal Light. This mistaken identity did not keep the rest of the men from tying him up in camp that night and draping garlic across his chest and dropping hot coals into his pajamas. He is, in fact, not a vampire.

On the morning of the 4th day, the intrepid adventurers headed homeware, emptyhanded, but with a plethora of megnificent memories and a mindful of jokes and stories that will never ever ever leave those mountains.

The plans are, next year, to commit themselves to a similar expedition, again in search of the wild and untameable and most likely dangerous. None of them can wait until 2009 when the hilarity will ensue once more...

Last couple of weeks

Aiden is "smelling the flowers." This is the new thing he does whenever he looks at a flower or even hears the word flower.

Trying to walk down his slide...becoming pretty brave I would say.

He is lining up and stacking his yogurt covered raisins...it just doesn't taste the same unless you play with it first I guess.

Aiden and I testing out our new camera... (p.s. notice the haircut..my friend Kristi did it for him)

Aiden has been "reading" his photo album lately...he likes to point out "mama, dada, nana, papa, and mamama(grandma)

There was a bird's nest right outside our apartment door, sadly, two days after I took his, someone took down and destroyed the nest :(

Aiden playing at a little splash park in Meridian...he loves to go and I love to take him - the best part is....its FREE!

Aiden and his friend Hunter playing.

Happy Birthday America!

This year we decided to go to Ann Morrison Park in Boise and watch the fireworks. We went last year, minus baby and decided to try it out and see if he like it this year. We got there about an hour early to secure some good seats and Aiden was a little restless but I think that once the fireworks started, he was amazed. He needed his binky and blanket and a comforting lap to sit on but he loved to look at them and would not take his eyes off of the show. The top picture is obviously of Aiden and I, trying to keep him busy until the fireworks started and the bottom picture is of my dad and Aiden just playing before the show. We tried to take a lot more pictures but Aiden would not look at the camera so they didn't turn out too well.

Baby 101

HAHAHAHA, i'm so evil. The other night, Phil and I wanted to go to the gym for a couple of hours. We asked Phil's brother, Jeffrey, to babysit for us. Jeff had been a little late because a friend's clock had been the wrong time. Well, i was very bitter and stubborn about that so I decided to withhold the fact that Aiden has had the grossest diapers the past few days trying to get over the flu/diarrhea. We came home from the gym to find Aiden with no clothes on, a BACKWARDS diapers and Jeff with the meanest, hateful look on his face. HAHA, the backwards diaper thing was hilarious. I don't know if he'll ever babysit again.....

Growing up?..

Don't even ask me how, but Aiden started climbing up into his own high chair. Does that mean he's too big for it? I'm not ready to give it up, and he doesn't seem to mind sitting in it. This is a shot we took catching him halfway up into the chair. I'm worried about things to come...

New Hobby

I went out of town for three days to visit Phil's sister, Emily, in Salt Lake. Phil was kind enough to take three days off of work so I could go by myself and have a little vacation. While I was away, they found a new hobby together...to hike up to Table Rock. You can drive up there, bike up there, run up there, or even hike up there. I can barely do the hike but its amazing to see the runners and bikers. Anyway, Phil has been going two or three times a week since then, he is preparing for a mountain trip in the middle of august in the Sawtooth's. I've only been twice but it kicked my butt both times...i'm very out of shape!

Happy Fathers Day

Yes, i realize that Father's day was like a month ago, but I did take pictures...I just didn't blog them until now. Anyway, we had a pretty good day. Phil got a new BBQ grill, which he was very happy about. We stopped by his dad's house and then we went to my Mom's for food...even though my dad was working :( Here are some pictures with the new grill, kind of dark but you get the idea.

Sick again!

Okay okay okay, I know its been a long time since I've posted anything...sorry! I will do everything today so there will be a lot to read. This is just a picture of all the stuff my visiting teacher put into a get well package for Aiden and I. We were both sick with colds and then Aiden developed an ear infection (of course!) In the package there were two cans of soup, some movies, popcorn, medicine for me and for Aiden. Some fruit snacks and animal cookies and of course chocolate for me. This is was so cool, one of the nicest things someone has ever done for me, i am so grateful for her, so if you are reading this, THANK YOU!

Non-Toxic

I never really cared or thought about the fact that crayons are non-toxic...let's just say that I appreciate it. I now know that Aiden isn't much of a "colorer", he just likes to eat them. We'll put them away for now.

Lagoon!!!!

Last year in May, we took a week's vacation in Salt Lake and went to Lagoon while we were there. We decided it would be a lot of fun to do that again so we planned the trip this year and went. It was Phil, Aiden and I, along with Phil's younget brother Dave and our good friend Mason. My friend Camille drove up from St. George Utah and Phil's sister Emily lives in Salt Lake so they came too. It was so much fun getting everyone together. This is how the trip started. We held off Aiden's afternoon nap so he could sleep for the drive and he was out by the time we pulled out of our parking lot!!! Mason and Dave are very enthusiastic about driving...not!! Ran through the water fountain because it was so hot outside and the water park was closed :( Did anyone know that there is overflow parking at Lagoon??? It is in a grass field...it was a long walk... This is most of us just posing for a picture together. Back row: Mason, Phil, Camille, Me, Dave and Emily in the front. They are psyched for this ride....it takes you so high in the air, waites a few seconds and then drops you...amazing and scary. Nic Cornia and his fiance, Rachelle came later that afternoon. They are so cute and fun! Waiting in line can get pretty boring.... Phil is being silly. This is my best friend who moved to St. George, Camille. I miss her to death all of the time. And this is how the trip ended...everyone was so exhausted and sleeping in the car. I only took a picture of Aiden because he is the only one that looks cute in his sleep. :) We are planning on going every year if we can, it seems like such a fun tradition. If anyone wants to sign themselves up, start saving and meet us there!