Happy 22nd Birthday Rachel!!

Happy Birthday Rachel!

Today my beautiful sister is one year older, making her 22! This is Randi (Rachel's sister) I hacked in to her blog and for Rachel's Birthday I wanted to post 22 things I love about my little sis!

1. She is one of my very best friends.

2. She is absolutely beautiful inside and out.

3. I can tell her anything, and she can keep a good secret.

4. She is very thoughtful.

5. She likes to have fun.

6. She has a great attitude.

7. She has a great sense of humor and can always make me laugh.

8. She loves my kids :) and is a super Aunt.

9. She is a great listener and laughs with me when I tell her about my crazy day with the kids.

10. She loves her husband.

11. She likes being with her family and we always have fun together.

12. She likes to play games and can always find something fun to do.

13. She is always thinking of others.

14. She is honest and I know I can always trust her.

15. She has a great testimony.

16. She likes to watch movies.

17. She is working hard and going to school.

18. She loves going on vacations together.

19. She has a great laugh!

20. She is a wonderful wife, daughter, sister, friend.

21. She will be an amazing mother.

22. Because she has always been a great little sister and even though her getting older means I am getting older I love that we seem to be closing the age gap and getting closer all the time!

Happy Birthday Sis! I hope you have a great day. You are the Best!

Christmas in August!

Paul has gotten really into fly fishing lately. He took a class last semester and has gotten pretty good! So while we were in Jackson Hole this last weekend he found some waders and boots that are kind of a necessity for his new found hobby. His mom told him he could get them and it could be his Christmas gift for this year, the deal was so good, he couldn't pass it up. So here it is Paul's Christmas in August!

Fun Family Visit!

We have had so much fun the last few days, my mom and dad came over for five days to visit us. We were worried we wouldn't have enough time to do all the fun things we wanted to do so we got up early and went to bed late and ended up fitting a lot of fun stuff into tone visit. On Saturday when they got here we went up to Idaho Falls and had a yummy dinner at Red Robin, then we went to our friends Dane and Jackie's house and hung out with them and Lindsy and Braden for a little while. That night we went for a long walk and enjoyed the nice weather outside. The next day we decided to go on a hike up Cress Creek, it was a nice hot day and beautfiul at the top. We even found some little streams we waded in to cool off. Paul took my parents to his favorite fishing place and then later that night we had a big barbeque with Jackie, Dane, Lindsy, and Braden. We went up and walked around the temple grounds since they hadn't seen it finished yet. Monday we drove to Jackson Hole and spent the day shopping in the cute, little stores, having a delicious lunch and just hanging out. Tuesday was their last day here so, mom and I went shopping in Idaho Falls while Paul and dad went shooting. We all met up later for dinner and Ice Age 3. Talk about a great time, it's so fun having visitors and doing fun things that you don't usually do. My parents were good sports about sleeping in our den on the air mattress, even though they didn't have much room. We appreciate them coming all the way over here to spend some time with us and make fun memories together. Love you guys, thanks for everything!

Go Chukars!!

Last night we got to go to an official Idaho Falls Chukars baseball game! We were excited to do something out of the ordinary and just spend some time with good friends. Of course we got the classic foods, hotdogs, nachos, and churros. Sadly it was kind of a cold night, Paul and I were both in summer clothes with no sweatshirts, what was I thinking. But it was a great night and we had lots of fun. After the game we decided to go to Arctic Cirlce to get some ice cream. It's always fun to sit around with good friends eating ice cream and just talking. Thanks Richins for the tickets to the game and a fun night with the Davis clan as well!

A little update

So I realized when I saw the pictures of Paul holding baby Brooke that I haven't posted anything in quite some time, so I thought a little update was in order. This is Paul's last week of school for this semester so he is busy with finals, that makes for a lot of boring nights by myself watching tv, lets just say I'm very caught up with TLC. I've been working a lot at Arby's still, makes me really want to get a college degree so I wont be there forever. But we've been having some fun along the way as well. Paul is taking a fly fishing class so he has been learninga lot and enjoying his time on the river. We went to a demolition derby just the other week and that was very entertaining, then had dinner with some good friends of ours after. Paul also took me out on a date night this last weekend, dinner and Harry Potter, what could be better? We went home to Monument this year for the 4th and had a great time there. My sister and her family came down that day and we had so much fun with the kids and everybody. We haven't been to that parade in a few years so it was fun to be beack again. Unfortunately we also had to return home for the funeral of our beloved Grandpa Welch. It was a very sad and difficult time but also good to sit around with all Paul's family and share our memories of grandpa. He was such a great man and did so many great things in this life and I know he is in a better place. We will miss him a lot but he leaves behind a lot of good memories and we look forward to seeing him again in the eternities.

Aww, so Cute!

When our good friends Dane and Jackie were at our house last, Paul got to hold their adorable little baby Brooke. He was so cute with her, he fed her some bottle, burped her, rocked her, and then they just sat and hung out together. It was fun to see Paul handling a little tiny baby.

A Fun Memorial Day!

This Memorial Day Paul was able to get off early and I didn't have to work til 5 that night so we decided we should take advantage of the good weather and spend some time outside. So us and our good friends Lindsy and Braden ran to subway to grab some lunch and then headed to Mesa Falls to see the water falls. It was fun, we had a good time chatting on the way up and then ate our sandwiches when we got there and hit the trail to the falls. They are soooo beautiful. We love going at different times of the season to see the changes. Right now everything is green and beautiful, you just feel so peaceful and happy. We were able to take some good pictures of the four of us. Then we walked around in the visitor's center up there and then headed back home so I could work that night. It was so fun to be out of the house and enjoy the scenery the Lord has blessed us with on this wonderful earth.

We're Ready for Summer Weather!

Paul has been wanting to get us some bikes to ride around for when it gets warmer weather, so he's been looking online for some good deals. One of his friends at work gave him his old bike, which we took to the bike shop and got all fixed up! Then he found a brand new one online someone was trying to sell and we got a great deal on another one for me! We're so excited to ride our new bikes, get some snoasis, rent movies,ride to school, cruise the town. However the weather hasn't been that nice lately so we're keeping our new bikes in our office for now, awaiting that great sunny day when we can finally take them out and ride them. Come on Summer!!

Paul learned to ride a motorcycle!

Paul learned how to ride a motorcycle the other day. First time ever and no crashes! He even somehow talked me into riding on the back with him! He did a good job though and I wasn't tooo nervous. The only problem now is he wants one.

Easter!

I know it's pretty late but I decided I like our pictures so I'm going to post them anyway. We had lots of fun for easter. I really wanted to color and hide eggs this year. Tons of fun! We hid them in our apartment, which was quite difficult in such a small space, but we had a good time. Then later that day we went over to a little park and fed the ducks. They were eating them right out of paul's hand! But I was too scared they would bite my finger so I just thew bread to them.

Our Fun Date Night!

So Paul has been planning a surprise date night for a couple of weeks now and we finally went on Saturday! He wouldn't tell me anything about it so I was very surprised when we got in the car and kept driving for an hour and a half. We finally got to Pocatello, I didn't think anything exciting happened in Pocatello so I was getting a little nervous. We go to Little Ceasars and grab a quick $5 pizza and have a little picnic in the car and then start driving again. There are tons of people everywhere, so I figure it must be pretty big. It was... Monster Trucks!! I had told Paul awhile ago that I had gone to see monster trucks with my dad and my nephew before and had loved it, so when he Paul heard on the radio it was coming he got us tickets! What a great guy I am married to. We loved it, it was loud and very dirty and dusty but so fun. We also got to watch some motocrossed during the breaks from the monster trucks. I love Paul, he's always doing such fun surprise dates, it never gets boring. And though I was getting very curious after the hour and a half drive it took us to get there, I never doubted that he had something great planned for us. I still loving spending one on one time with Paul and having him all to myself! I am sad to say that even though we made sure we had our camera before we left the house, it didn't have batteries when we tried to turn it on so no pictures this time.

A Quick Trip Home!

My sweet little nephew got baptized this last weekend and my wonderful parents flew me home for the occassion. It was a wonderful event, Porter was so excited and ready for the big day and it was so great to get to be a part of it. The night I flew in I got to go to the restaurant my brother works at, Blue Star, for dinner, it was delicious! It was fun to get to see my family for the short weekend, they are so great to us, we are very blessed for all the love we have in our family. Unfortunatly Paul had to stay home and work so he couldn't, what a good guy, working to provide for his family. Love you hon! I missed you and it's great to be back!

And Congratulations to Porter for his big day, we're so proud of him!

Paul's 24, Happy Birthday!!

I'm late posting, but Paul is now 24! He had a great birthday. Sadly I had to work in the morning but Lindsy and Braden kept Paul company until I got home. Then we ran over to Wal Mart to buy his birthday present, a .22 he's had his eye on. Then we went to the movie, Marley an Me, since Paul got a free ticket for his bday. It was fun, we were the only ones in the entire theatre. That night we went to dinner at Craigo's with all of our dear friends. It was so fun, we got lots of pizza and cookie monsters all over the place. He also got a new wii game, lego Indiana Jones, from mom and dad so we stayed up late playing that. I love when Paul's birthday comes around, I get as excited or more so than he does. I love to make his day special and fun and I love trying to surprise him. I can't believe I'm married to a 24 year old man now and we've almost been married 2 years, time sure does fly. How lucky I am to spend my years with such an amazing man that I love.

A Fun Date with my Man!

Paul and I had such a fun date night this last weekend. There is the cuttest little homemade ice rink in Rexburg this year, $4 for two people to skate and get the ice skates. So first we went ice skating together, just the two of us, it was so fun! Sadly the temperature was about 15 degrees and neither one of us are very good at all at ice skating. I held onto Paul's arm the whole time and he pulled me along. Then we went to the Cocoa Bean to get a hot chocolate and warm up. They were delicious! We came home and watched X Files 2 while we got warm under our big cozy blanket and drank our hot cocoa. It was so fun to have a night just the two of us and to get out of the house to do something we don't do every night. I truly cherish the times we have to spend together and just have fun doing anything and everything. Paul graduates next year and though we're ecstatic and can't wait, I also realized we need to take advantage of our college times and the cheap fun dates we go on.

Christmas and Guitar Hero!

Christmas this year was great! We got to spend a few weeks home and enjoyed seeing all our family and friends. Christmas Eve we had dinner at Jean's house with the Welch grandparents, my sister Randi and her family, and some good family friends, the Russons. It was great, we had chinese haystacks, it was delicious and then we all did a white elephant gift exchange. Then my mom and dad, Randi and Allen, my brother Stuart, and us all got went to my house and put together the presents for the kids from Santa. That was one of the most fun parts, playing with all the toys before the kids got to. The next day we all got up, watched the kids get presents from Santa, and then opened presents and had a great breakfast. We were all spoiled, but it was so fun. Being with family and spending Christmas is the greatest blessing.

My parents got a wii for Christmas so we could all play when we come home, and one of our favorite games, GUITAR HERO live on tour! It was great, we all got pretty into it and before we knew it we were playing it everynight til the wee hours of the morning.