Joe, Karli & Claire

Claire - 18 Months

2011-11-12T11:29:00.000-08:00

So Claire is 18 months now. Man, where did the time go? She is a blast! She is talking like crazy and she is tons of fun. I have a few videos and tons of pictures. But don't worry, I'm not going to post them all. Here is a brief update of Claire now.

Loves her milk!
She knows more about phones than we do!
Swoop!!!
At the game, sitting with "Maga" (Grandma)

Gardner Village With the Cousins.

Always wants the "Cheese"

Mama & Claire with the Witch

Daddy & C with the Witch

C with Lani

So cute! Older cousins taking care of Baby Claire!

Gardner Village

Wondering about the Utah gear? We went to a Utah game that night!

Our little Fam

I thought she was going to jump in the water!

Cheese!!
She loves to be outside.

Watching the neighbor boys play catch

Joe does this face ALL THE TIME!

Our little Lady Bug watching for Trick-or-Treaters

Joe, busy carving.

Claire with her "Munkeen"

Mama & C getting ready to carve

Trick-or-Treating for the first time. She doesn't quite know how to feel about it.

Just chillin with cousin Mal

Loves Yo Gabba Gabba

ClaireI know that was a picture overload, but it has been almost a year since I've posted a real update. These pictures were all from the last month or so. I'm going to try to update more often, but no promises. I'm ending with a couple videos of Claire. Enjoy!

Halloween Night after Trick-or-Treating

Eating Some Spaghetti

New Post

2011-06-14T20:03:00.001-07:00

We finally got the internet so I will be able to update now! However, I don't have enough time tonight. The main picture of our blog is just a teaser of the pictures of our super cute Claire! To be continued...

Christmas

2011-01-12T20:13:00.000-08:00

It was so fun to have a baby this Christmas. I loved buying her little toys when all she loved were the boxes. She is so dang cute and just melts my heart. Here are some pics of her first Christmas.

Her new rocking horse. She didn't think she had to hold on.

This is her making her new sound that she loves to make!

In her Christmas jammies pulling Grandpa's hair.

Six Month Pics

2011-01-12T19:44:00.000-08:00

We had our friend Talia Draper take some six month pictures of Claire back in November. Talia did an awesome job and they turned out SOOOO GOOD! We had to wait to post them because we were using them in some Christmas gifts and didn't want people to see them. Claire is such a cheeser so it was a fun experience to have her pictures taken. I just love these pictures. Claire is just too dang cute! Here are a few!

Where'd the time go?

2010-11-15T20:16:00.000-08:00

It has been so long since I have posted so be prepared for picture overload! Claire has gotten so big and she is so much fun! She is now six months old! I can't believe it has been six months since this beautiful little girl came into our lives! At her six month check up, she weighed 16 lbs 2 oz, 26.25 in long. She is very tall for her age, but skinny for her height. If you've seen her thighs, you wouldn't believe that she is skinny, but the doctor even said that she is skinny. She is sitting up on her own. She'll sit forever, she has such a strong core. She'll even stand if you hold her hands and I'm just waiting for the day she'll just start running. She does a funny little crawl where she uses her head on the ground to push her body where she wants it to go, but she gets to where she needs to. She is a chatterbox (just like her mama!). Claire loves food. Her favorites are pears, bananas, apples, sweet potatoes, squash, oatmeal, peas, strawberry yogurt. Her dislikes are the baby meats. Let's be honest, they look nasty, they smell nasty. How can we even make her eat them! Her face is so funny when she eats. She is starting to have so much personality. Claire still wants to be held all the time. It makes it quite hard in the mornings when Joe is already at work and I'm getting ready for work. Claire comes with me to work every day which is such a blessing. I'm so glad I get to spend all day every day with her. I put her in the snugli and away we go. She will be a professional trophy builder by the time she's 1! Luckily, I have lots of family there to help me with her. She even gets to a ride in the snugli by her aunt Jenna sometimes. Anyway... Bring on the pics!

4 months old....

On the Heber Creeper in September

Cute
5 months old....

Gardner Village Witches

With the Cousins at Gardner Village

So pretty!

This is the face she pulls when she is playing with her toys! I LOVE it!

The cutest elephant I've ever seen. She doesn't look too thrilled, but she loved it.

Cold & Rainy Halloween

Six Months...

Sitting up on her own! She's a cheeser!

Big Girl!

So cute!

How can you not LOVE this face!!! Just melts my heart!

Newest Little Ute Fan!

2010-09-12T12:09:00.000-07:00

We took C to her first Utah game on the 2nd. It was the PITT game so it was extremely loud and we didn't bring ear plugs. She was not a happy camper. We finally got some from Guest Services, but they were adult size. Even after ripping them in half they still didn't fit. She wasn't too thrilled with the game and we spent a little time walking around outside of the game to calm her down.

I love her little pose in this picture!

We took her to her second game on the 11th. This time we were prepared with earplugs, but not with sunscreen. She got her little face and head a little burned, but not too bad. She liked this game a lot more! She was such a good girl! She watched the game, and even cheered a little. This time we had her all decked out in her Utah Cheerleader get-up. However, we forgot her bow, and people kept calling her a boy! lol Even though she was in a dress, she still got called a boy. Oh well... Next time, we won't forget the bow! The cute outfit was given by some family! THANKS GUYS!!! She looks so cute in it!

And of course the UTES won both games!!! GO UTES!!!

50 YEARS

2010-09-12T11:08:00.001-07:00

My Grandparents just celebrated their 5oth Wedding Anniversary! Wow... So amazing! My grandma wanted to get family pictures as part of their celebration, (the rest of the celebration included a suite at the bees game & fireworks). So we all went and had a family photo shoot and they all turned out really well! Claire did great. She wouldn't do any pictures of just her, but in the family pics she was smiling! Here are a few...

I love Claire's face in this one...

The Fam..

Grandma & Grandpa

After 50 years they have...
3 kids

5 Grandkids, 1 Grandson-in-law, & 1 great-granddaughter

The Barton Fam!

Congrats Grandma & Grandpa! Happy Anniversary! Thanks for all you do! We love you!!!

Blessing

2010-09-06T21:48:00.000-07:00

We were finally able to bless Claire on September 5th. It was such a great day! We had lots of family and friends come. It was so fun to see everyone. The blessing went great. Joe did a great job. Claire did cry a little bit, but it was because she wanted to sit up. She looked so dang cute in her white dress. We barely escaped a blowout. Right after her blessing in the middle of the sacrament she decided to toot and poop very loudly in a very quiet room. Funny, yet scary. Joe quickly went and changed her before it made too big of a mess. Thank heavens that dresses come with diaper covers!!!

Taking a nap before the blessing.

With Daddy after the blessing.

4 Generations

With Mom and Dad

Showing off her pretty new dress.

Claire with her boyfriend Maddux.
(She needed a nap)

The day was a great success and a lot of fun! Thank you to everyone for coming and for all of the help!

Growing Girl

2010-09-06T21:34:00.000-07:00

I can't believe how fast time flies! Claire is getting so big and so much fun. We tried to put her in a walker because she loves to stand and she is such a strong baby, but I'm thinking it is a little too soon for the walker. Her feet don't touch the ground so she sways back and forth. She tried to eat all the toys and lasted about long enough to for us to take a few pics. We'll wait just a little bit longer and I bet she'll love it!

She has also started rolling over now. She loves this little flower play mat but rolls over and gets stuck. She loves the cute toys that hang. She loves to grab them and can now pull one of the flowers and it plays music.

She is such a cutie! She is now making these little grunting noises when she's falling asleep. It is so funny because her eyes are closed, but she still makes the noises. She is talking like crazy! It is so dang cute! She's growing so fast which is definitely a bitter sweet feeling.

3 Months!!!

2010-08-09T12:30:00.000-07:00

Today Claire is 3 months old! Wow... time flies!!! I have been horrible about taking time to journal or blog about the last 3 months so I'm going to do one big long post! Yay, you get to read it! :-)

Claire is such a good little baby. I don't have to hold her when she sleeps anymore, well not all of the time anyway... I'll admit, I love to just sit and hold her when she sleeps, but it makes it hard for me to get things done. She is still sleeping in a bassinet. She's getting too big for it, but we like her to sleep in it because things in our lives are a little hectic right now. We're staying at my parents house and Joe's parents' house, so with the bassinet we can take it with us and she can at least have that consistency. She sleeps through the night occasionally, but will sometimes wake up once or twice a night. Depends on what time she finally gets to bed.
She spits like crazy. She's always drooling, spitting, and blowing bubbles.
She is starting to be more interactive. She is grabbing my hair, and tries to grab the logos on Joe's shirts.
She has giggled a few times but is always smiling.
She is talking more and more every day.
Claire has the cutest pouty face. Her bottom lip sticks out so far and you just have to laugh.
Claire has seven extremely long hairs on her head that blow in the wind.
She loves to sit up and has been holding her head up very well for quite a while now. She's extremely strong and great at pulling herself up.
Claire is starting to like baths more.
She wears 1-2 diapers.
She's rolled over twice. ( She was just super hungry and arching her back so much she just happened to roll over.)
She loves to sleep on her tummy, which is a little nerve racking for mom.
Claire loves when Joe squeezes her cheeks and says in a deep voice, "These are my chubby cheeks," 3x.
She loves her soothie binky. We have tried to switch to a cuter binky and she just isn't having it.
She fights like crazy when she's exhausted but doesn't want to go to sleep.
She loves to suck on her hand, all the time! Hopefully it doesn't turn into thumb sucking.
She has one cry that is just a whine. It's pretty cute.
Her right kidney isn't functioning but the left is doing the work it needs to. He left kidney has a little bit of reflux which should clear itself eventually. She is on an antibiotic to prevent UTIs. She absolutely hates it so we have to mix it with a little bit of milk to get her to keep it down. This is how she has learned to spit. Between her antibiotic and medicine for acid reflux, she can spit out her medicine as soon as you put it in her mouth.
She loves to rub blankets or burp cloths.

Watching T.V. with Daddy, in Cedar.
6/15/10 - one month

June 15, 2010 - In Cedar
one month

Watching the 4th of July Parade
Almost 2 months

Playing with Daddy!

Hangin with Mama!

Cute Smiles! - 3 months

The Delivery

2010-08-05T18:36:00.000-07:00

So I can finally take some time to sit down and write about the whole labor experience. It happened like this... Saturday May 8th we went to the hospital to get an ultrasound to check the fluid level and for a NST. While doing the NST the nurse pointed out that I was contracting but they weren't bad enough to keep me there. I was scheduled to go in on Monday May 10th at 1:00 A.M. to be induced and she told us to just stick with that. Well Joe went to work and I was contracting all day. They were pretty painful but not bad enough or close enough together. I just dealt with it all day. When Joe got home my contractions were getting worse but not close enough together so I just tried to tough it out. Then finally at 1:00 May 9th, I couldn't take it anymore and we went to the hospital. I wasn't sure if my water had broken, and I guess my contractions still weren't close enough, and I was only dilated to a 3 and 70% effaced which I had been for about 2 weeks. So the nurse wanted to send me home, but my doctor told me to stay. The nurse did a couple of test and come to find out... my water had broken and I didn't even know. I was expecting a big gush but that just didn't happen.

I was dilating pretty quickly but the nurse made me wait til I was a five to get an epidural. She gave me a sedative that was super weird. I could still feel the pain but my body was so relaxed that I just didn't care. The weirdest feeling in the world! Finally at 4:30 A.M. I got an epidural. It was like a little piece of heaven.

The nurse told me to get a little rest, but that is pretty hard to do when they are checking your cervix so often and your blood pressure every 15 mins. The nurses had shift change and we got the best nurse ever. Her name was Megan. She also told us to relax and rest.

At 7:30 A.M. she said I was fully dilated and needed to start pushing. Joe and I freaked out! Weren't we supposed to rest first? We were so excited to meet our little one! On the first push she could see Claire's head and said I need to call the doctor. She called the doctor and I pushed a few more times while we were waiting. She finally told me not to push anymore because the doctor wasn't there yet and Claire was ready to come. He finally got there at 8:15 A.M. and with one push Claire was out. She was the most beautiful thing I had ever seen. She looked exactly like Joe. Holding her was the most amazing feeling. It was super weird to know I was the one to comfort her. I usually give crying babies back to their mom, but this time I was the mom.

The labor was suprisingly easy. The pregnancy was hard so it was only fair I had an easy labor. :-)

Claire is such an amazing baby. We love her so much!

Claire

2010-06-15T14:59:00.001-07:00

Claire is such a blessing in our lives. She is a beautiful, healthy, baby girl. We love her more and more everyday!
So I have finally been able to upload pictures of Claire. However, these were just taken the other day so she was one month old. I will put up the first pictures of her later. I will also share the story of the night/day she was born later. We are right in the middle of moving up to Salt Lake so things are super crazy right now.

Mother on Mother's Day!!!

2010-05-12T16:59:00.001-07:00

Karli and I just wanted to get a little somethin somthin on the blog about our beautiful daughter Claire as there was much concern with possible scenarios due to Claire's polysystic kidney. I will keep it simple so that Karli can have the experience of sharing the details. Things ended up going a little differently than planned and Claire showed she was just as impatient/excited to come out as her parents were for her to arrive. The plan was for Karli to be induced on Monday May 10th at 1:00 a.m. to get the ball rolling. However, we ended up at the hospital late Saturday night and Claire was born at 8:15 a.m. on mother's day. She was 19 1/2 inches and weighed 7 lbs and 14 oz. It was truly one of the most remarkable and powerful experiences of our lives. Karli was amazing in labor and is doing great. Claire is a beautiful little girl, a cuddler and snuggler, that is already blessing our home and family. She actually had quite a bit of hair when she was born, which is a dark red with some blonde in it. In regards to the birth and process after it couldn't have gone any smoother. Claire was "going number 1 and 2" providing a lot of relief as this was the sign to show kidney function (whether it be one of both) is still good. So at this point there are no immediate concerns with Claire's kidney. We have already gone in for the ultrasound and will get the results by tomorrow. With that we will head up to Primary Children's in a month for further testing. All is all both Karli and Claire are going great and our beautiful little family couldn't be any happier (lack of sleep and all). We appreciate everyone's support, prayers and concern and are very grateful for our wonderful families and friends. Pics and additional information with be posted soon.

COLLEGE GRADS!!!!

2010-05-05T17:03:00.000-07:00

Joe and I finally became college grads! Joe graduated with his B.S. in Psychology and a minor in Family Services, and I graduated with my B.S. in Elementary Education and a minor in Reading. It feels so good to be done with school! (Joe still has grad school though :-D ) We have both worked so hard and it feels great! However, there is a small sadness that comes with it. School has been such a huge part of our lives from the very beginning of our relationship. Joe and I have some great memories that have come from being students. We met at Snow College where we dated for a year and he eventually proposed at Palisades. We had lots of late nights hanging out and doing homework.We moved to Cedar after getting married to go to SUU, and we started a whole new step of our lives (being married and students). At the end of each semester we would get huge pepsi's and snacks to stay up all night with Joe while he writes a paper the night before it is due (he'd finish at 7 am the morning of). Plus, late nights in the ELC computer lab doing homework because we didn't have the internet at our house. We have many more memories but I won't bore you with them.
We are now entering the next step in our lives, finding real jobs, and most importantly, expanding our family with our baby girl. We are so grateful for the experiences we have had and the experiences to come. I am so proud of Joe for graduating. He was always working full time and going to school full time, and still found time to entertain me. Thank you to all of our family. We couldn't have made this long journey without you all. It was so fun to see all of you who could make it to Cedar to share this special day with us. It meant a lot. For those of you who couldn't come, we still felt you there with us! We love you all! P.S. No baby yet! :-(

Update...

2010-03-30T12:55:00.001-07:00

I know it has been forever since I've updated our blog. Everything is so crazy right now. The Roberts that I work at is closing so I'm working a lot more hours than usual because the store has been crazy busy! Joe is still working and going to school and trying to adjust to my many pregnant woman mood swings. :-) With only 7 weeks left, we finally got the crib up and Joe was so awesome and rearranged the room so that the baby could have her own room. It feels so good to have the crib up! Even if the room is bare, she still has somewhere to sleep!

As for the baby, she is still growing nicely. We are still trying to get things figured out about her kidney. It looks like it is something different, something called Multicystic Dysplastic Kidney. Click to read more. Her left kidney is still working well and producing enough fluid to keep her in there. We have been going in weekly for non-stress tests (NST) which is just being hooked up to monitors and listening to her heartbeat, and for amniotic fluid index (AFI) which is just an ultrasound where they measure the fluid to make sure she is peeing. So far so good. We will update later with more pictures and info when we get it. We love you all!

More Updates...

2010-01-26T11:53:00.000-08:00

I'm finally posting a picture of me with the prego belly. However, this was taken at about 19 weeks and I'm now 23 weeks so I'm a little bigger than the picture. We don't have the internet at our house so it is hard to update as frequently as I would like. I'm also putting the most recent profile picture of our beautiful baby girl. It is amazing to think that she is inside of me. Crazy!

I have been able to feel her moving around for a while now and it never gets old. This week we have been able to see my stomach move on the outside too. I love watching Joe's face when he sees it move. He gets the biggest grin on his face. She already has him wrapped around her little finger! We only have about 16 weeks left. Time Flies!!! We don't really have anything we need for her yet besides a few outfits my sister has bought (she'll be one spoiled little girl thanks to Jenna!) and some onesies we bought. If anyone knows any places to get a good deal on car seats and strollers, or any other baby stuff let us know! We are so excited for May!!! Can't wait to see our cute little baby girl!

Baby Girl Update

2010-01-19T13:06:00.000-08:00

We went to the Ultrasound appointment on the 12th and got to see our beautiful baby girl. She has very long legs and some pretty big lips. Every time we see her we are reminded of what a miracle this whole process is. The technology that we have to see that little thing that is always kicking me and moving around is just amazing! The ultrasound went great until we got a phone call from our doctor and got some not too great news. The doctor informed us that her right kidney is larger than it should be and that he was sending us to a specialist in St. George. We went down to the specialist and we find out that our baby girl has what they call Ureterovesical Junction Obstruction. Basically, this is where the tube from her kidney to her bladder is blocked and everything that should be leaving her right kidney is just staying in it causing it to get bigger and bigger. There isn't anything we can do for her until she is born. The doctor said with as early as we are, she will probably lose her right kidney leaving her with one working kidney the rest of her life. Surgery after she is born is a big possibility. This means, we probably won't be delivering in Cedar City. We will have to go down to St. George where they have the right facilities to help our baby girl. Her left kidney is working great and we are just praying that it continues to work so we can keep her in the womb as long as we can. We weren't going to blog about this but decided we'd rather everyone read exactly what is going on than have it be passed through grapevines. Please keep her in your prayers. We love you all and miss you!

How we told...

2010-01-04T10:08:00.001-08:00

We told the Fait family in this cute way. It took everyone a while to see that Joe had Boy? on his shirt. Mine was a little more hidden. After they did notice, we let it drag on for like 2 minutes and then we showed them what was underneath. It was so fun. Everyone was huddled around and it was so exciting! Everyone thought it was a boy so they were all very surprised when it was a girl!!! (Lynds, thanks for the pics!)

We told my parents, Taylor, and Jenna in a not so fun way. They asked us if we knew and I cracked. I just couldn't stop smiling, I pretty much blew it. We didn't tell them right away. We made them watch the DVD of the ultrasound to find out. Jenna and my mom were especially excited that it was a girl. I'm pretty sure Taylor wanted a boy. But everyone is excited. Especially us! We can't wait to see her!

The Verdict is in....

2009-12-30T12:25:00.000-08:00

It's a GIRL!!! We are going to have a baby girl in May. We are so excited. We are also quite shocked because we thought for sure it was a boy. We are so excited to welcome her into our little family. We would post pictures, but we didn't get any. The reason for that is, she is still sitting extremely low. The doctor couldn't really do any of the measurements he needed to because of how low she is. Everything is alright. The doctor said they just sit where they are comfortable and not to worry. However, my stomach is getting bigger and she isn't taking advantage of it. lol The good thing about her being so low is I can feel her a lot! It's kind of funny how that little nudge all of the time is so comforting to know she's there. We have another doctor's appointment scheduled for the 12th of January and hopefully we will get some answers and pictures at that ultrasound. Watch for more posts coming soon....

Our Christmas Card to You!

2009-12-01T19:16:00.001-08:00

Send your own ElfYourself eCards

We're Expecting!!!

2009-11-05T13:26:00.000-08:00

Joe and I are so excited to tell everyone that we are 12 weeks pregnant! We expect Baby Fait to enter the world May 21st. It is such a special time to have a baby because we have lots of birthdays in May. My dad's birthday is May 21st so it would be really special to have his first grandchild born on his birthday. I'm feeling pretty good. I've been nauseous quite a bit, but luckily haven't been too sick. I'm pretty sure my nausea was caused by the extra progesterone hormone that the doctor had me taking. Fortunately, I'm done taking those horrible things! I'm definitely excited to be out of the first trimester in a few weeks! The pictures above were taken at ten weeks. At this appointment we got to hear the heartbeat again. It was such an amazing experience. If you notice the measurements of the baby, according to books, it is actually quite large for it's age. Just another sign it is definitely our child!

Fait Update!

2009-09-26T20:07:00.000-07:00

Sorry it has been so long since I've posted anything! This semester has been absolutely nuts! I'm student teaching and working. Joe is going to school full-time and working full-time. We don't usually see each other til about 10 p.m. It has been so hard! But we are definitely seeing the light at the end of the tunnel. I am wrapping up my first placement. I have been in a 2nd grade class and I have learned so much. Especially about myself as a teacher. It has been awesome! I will definitely miss the kids. They are great! So sweet. I have one more week in 2nd grade and then I go to 4th grade. I am so excited to 4th grade! It will be nice to teach kids that are more independent! I will finish the 4th grade placement the week before Thanksgiving and then I'm done! Yay! Joe has this semester, and then the spring semester and he is done. We will both walk in May! What the heck are we going to do??? It will be way weird not going to school! But it will be so nice to see more of each other! We hope everyone is doing well! We miss everyone and love you all lots!

Glasses anyone?

2009-08-19T15:25:00.000-07:00

Here is a perfect example of why you should always wear your glasses if you can't see far away...

But, make sure you notice who won! Even without my glasses I can still kick his butt!

More Cali Pics

2009-08-14T20:40:00.001-07:00

CALIFORNIA

2009-08-14T19:54:00.000-07:00

We had a great time in California! We spent 2 days at Disneyland/California Adventure, 1/2 day at Universal Studios and then a Dodgers ga me, we did a day at Sea World, and two days at the beach. We were way busy but got some time to relax too. It was so fun to spend time with the family and just hang out by the pool. This vacation couldn't have come at a better ti me. With lots going on... we were able to take our mind off things in Cali. Here are some pics... More to come...

Surgery...

2009-07-15T16:28:00.000-07:00

For those of you who don't know.... I had to have surgery last Monday, July 6th. I had two cysts on my fallopian tube. I went to the doctor because of some cramps and left there rushing into surgery. The doctor was able to drain them and he assures me they won't be back. It was quite the day. I've never had surgery so I was terrified but was so blessed to have Joe by my side to calm me and help me get through it. I am doing better now. My incisions are sore and I'm not up to full strength, but I'm making it through. Last week was quite eventful and I couldn't have made it through without my amazing husband, and our families. Thanks for all the prayers. Luckily, we leave for California on Friday which just happened to be perfect timing! We need a little getaway! Love you all!

Adam and Lindsay's Wedding

2009-06-24T13:36:00.000-07:00

Beautiful Bride & Groom

Isn't he handsome?

Joe and Jeremy

Jenny & Kar

Jeremy, Adam, and Joe

Strike a pose!

The Mains

We had a blast at Adam and Lindsay's wedding. It was so great seeing all the gang together again! We got to hang out with the Mains at the temple and before the reception and we met the Banburys at the reception. After the reception we got to see Trey and Michelle's adorable new baby Lucy. It was so much fun! Enjoy the pics.

SUMMER TIME!!!

2009-05-26T12:34:00.000-07:00

Joe and I are so excited for summer. We both did great in school this semester and we are so excited to take the summer off and have some fun! This last weekend we got to hang out with some of Joe's family at our house and in St. George. It was so fun. We swam for a couple of hours and had a great time just hanging out with everyone! We don't have a ton a big plans this summer except for a trip to California with my family and we are super excited for that! We have a couple of weddings we get to go to, so it will be fun to see old friends. If you have any close to home activities we can do this summer let us know! We need some new ideas to get us out of the house!

Valentines Day Cont...

2009-04-20T20:09:00.001-07:00

With my laptop getting a virus I wasn't able to post the pics of what I did for Joe on Valentines Day. I'm only posting these because I've had some requests! I decorated our room with 214 hearts and most of them were written on! Got the idea from my good friend Lew! Here goes..

Busy Busy!

2009-04-20T20:01:00.000-07:00

Hey everyone! Joe and I have been super busy lately! Especially Joe. He's working 40 hours a week and going to school full time! I don't know how he does it, but I sure do love him for it. Finals are next week so hopefull we can survive until then! We are definitely ready for Summer! I just celebrated my 22nd birthday! Man I'm getting up there! :-) It was on Easter this year and I was pretty bummed to be down in Cedar away from family. But my amazing husband did a great job of making me feel special! I woke up that morning to a few extra things in my Easter basket (he just had to 1 up me!). He had my presents out with some beautiful purple tulips by them. He had to be at work at 6 that morning, so I got to stare at my presents until after church which ended at 4! Torture! When I got home and walked through the door, my cute husband was there waiting. I opened my presents which consisted of a purple IPod. Finally, I think I was the last person on the earth without an IPod. He also bought me the Gidget collection on DVD. I had been bugging him to put it on our Netflix queue but there was no way he was going to do that. He got me the new Rascal Flatts CD, The Wedding Date DVD and a gift card to Itunes. He even had a cake for me! He did great! I got some new shirts from my family which were much needed.I also got an apple clock to go in my kitchen from the Barton fam. I had an awesome birthday! Thanks for all the birthday wishes! Love you all!

Mesquite

2009-03-31T21:35:00.001-07:00

So I went to Mesquite last week and I am so happy to be home! I had a lot of fun but I actually got home sick and was so happy to see my amazing husband! A little time apart was just what we needed. We realize we actually do like to be around each other! JK. I had a great time. I played the slots for the first time. I lost three dollars. I also played BINGO and I won $50, I 18 will forever be my lucky number. I couldn't believe it. I guess it was my lucky day! We hit up the Virgin River Buffet, played BINGO and went bowling all in one night. What a blast! I met Joe in St. George on Wednesday and we went to the temple with another couple and followed that up with some great Carl's Jr. I had a great experience with the teacher that I helped while in Mesquite. It was a fourth grade class and it was fun. I didn't really get to know the kids until the last day. On the last day I got to go a field trip with them to a museum of Nevada history. It was a lot of fun. We rode on a bus to Las Vegas which meant a lot of "I Spy" time on the bus. It started to get a little repetitive but the kids had a blast. I'm glad I had the opportunity to go to Mesquite but I am super glad to be home!

Happy Valentine's Day!

2009-02-14T13:08:00.000-08:00

Yesterday at the elementary, I got to celebrate Valentine's Day with them. I got to make a bag and I even got Valentines and I gave them to the kids too. I gave them monster bookmarks. They were cheap, and I didn't think very cute, but as Joe said, " They are teachery valentines." lol The kids loved them! It was so fun. It just makes me that much more excited to have my own class. However, the kids were bouncing off the walls. But, I guess that is to be expected!

Today, we finally got to sleep in, and boy did it feel good! It had been so long! Then we got up and I made pink pancakes. It was weird because seeing them pink you almost expected them to have a strawberry flavor, but they were still good.

Joe has to work til 10, but little does he know there will be some surprises waiting for him when he gets home. Pictures to come...

YAY for Benefits!

2009-02-10T21:18:00.000-08:00

So I'm sitting here in the library patiently waiting for Joe to finish his homework, and I thought I would just post some updates! I'm so proud of Joe! He just found out that he got the full-time position he applied for at his work. I know he will do a great job. He is so great with the kids. With the full-time job come the benefits! YAY! We are so excited to finally have benefits. However, with his school schedule, he'll have to work Friday, Saturday, and Sunday nights. So much for weekends! But it is definitely worth it. We still have two nights off together, so it shouldn't be too bad!

The block is going great for me. It is a blast. I have learned so much and just love all of the people in the block with me. We have so much fun. I was worried about the all day classes, but it hasn't been too bad. In March, we get to go to Mesquite for a week and teach there. I am really excited. It will kind of be like a girls week! I'm sure we'll find plenty of ways to keep ourselves entertained down there! I only have two more days in the 3rd grade placement that I am in now. Next week, I will be switching to 6th grade. I don't know how I feel about this. I have had such a great time in this class. I have gotten to know the kids and don't want to switch and start all over again. But, I know it will be a good experience for me to get a taste of teaching 6th grade.

Having Howard and Kathy down a few weekends ago made us realize just how much we miss our family back home. We hope you can come visit soon. We won't be up there anytime soon, but we love you all and think about you often!

The newest addition to our family!

2009-01-31T12:47:00.000-08:00

Yay!!! We finally got new ones!

The newest addition to our family is a brand new washer and dryer, and oh how we love them! You can tell from the pictures it is a definite upgrade for us! No more cleaning lint out of the brush in the washer! It took a lot longer than we had hoped for Home Depot to get them in, but definitely worth the wait. The washer has a lid you can see through. Who knew that you could watch clothes quietly spin in the washer and actually be entertained! Three years ago I never would've thought that we would get so excited to get a new washer and dryer. Wow... times have changed!

The Fait Update!

2009-01-12T21:17:00.000-08:00

We have been super busy lately! School has started once again and we have jumped right in to the semester! Joe is taking on a bigger work load than he ever has and all the work is in his minor classes. He is not too thrilled about that because he really didn't even need a minor but he thought it would be good. He is definitely doubting his decision. Karli has started the elementary block. Mondays she is in class from 10-1, Tuesdays and Fridays she goes to the elementary, and Wednesdays and Thursdays she is in class from 9-4. It has been so exciting. Karli loves the third grade class she is working with. The teacher is awesome and Karli has already learned so much from him. Karli also got a new calling. She is now the 2nd counselor in the Young Women's presidency. She doesn't feel old enough to have such a calling but is so excited to get started! Well that is pretty much it from us! Love you all!

P.S. The Utes won the Sugar Bowl!!! Yay Utes!

Fait Christmas

2008-12-26T14:58:00.001-08:00

Our Christmas this year was so much fun! Christmas Eve we went to Karli's parents and had a big party. Christmas Day we ate breakfast at Joe's aunt Linda's house, it was yummy. We then went to Karli's to hang out for a bit and then went to Corinne and Rod's house (Joe's sister). It was really fun. Karli made Ava and Adi, the little girls, tutus. Adi was hesitant at first but as soon as Ava got one they put them on. They were so cute! They danced for a while. It was so fun. We got ourselves a new camera for Christmas and we had a lot of fun taking pictures. Karli got a sewing machine, a Chi hair straigthener, a blow dryer (it is amazing),adult size jammies with the feet and zip all the way up, and some clothes and parfume. Joe got a couple Cubs shirt, a pop corn popper, basketball, and lots of other stuff. We had a great Christmas and we hope you all did too. We love you all!

Our Busy Life!

2008-12-03T21:42:00.000-08:00

Sorry we haven't posted for a while. Our Thanksgiving was great. My family came down to Cedar and we had a lot of fun. I had to work the dreaded Black Friday. It wasn't too bad. I saw my new favorite movie, Twilight. I just loved it. I wish it could've been like five hours long! It was amazing. I even got the same feeling I did when I was reading it. Joe kept laughing at me because the whole movie I had a huge smile on my face. I love corny romantic movies! Anyway... this week has been extremely hectic. I feel like I have spent every night at the library. Joe had a presentation due today and a paper due Monday. I hate to say it, but I am glad he dragged me to the library every night. I have been able to get a lot of homework done that would've just been put off to the very last minute! I can't wait until Saturday the 13th. Our lives will be a lot calmer!

BLACKOUT

2008-11-08T19:50:00.000-08:00

The U of U vs. TCU blackout game was so awesome. That last two minutes was so intense! It was so worth driving up and back. Even if we did have to leave at 4:30 Friday morning! Utah 13 - TCU 10. GO UTES!!!!!!!!

Visiting the Fam!!!

2008-10-20T14:21:00.001-07:00

This weekend we got to go up and visit our families. It has been a little over 2 months since the last time we were in Salt Lake, so this weekend showed us just how fast the little one's grow! On Thursday we drove up and just kind of hung out. Last week Joe's ring broke so we had to drop it off to get a new one. We also dropped my ring to get dipped. It looks so shiny and pretty again! Then, I got to see my friend Kristin's 6 week old baby girl and she is adorable. On Friday, Joe, Brian, and Taylor went golfing while I watched Jayda and Trenton. Before the boys took off to go golfing, Taylor discovered that Joe's car has a safety release in the trunk, so he just had to try it out! We have lots of pictures of him, and some of me, in the trunk. It was a lot of fun. Joe finally got his dress clothes back! Thanks to Adam! We owe Adam big time! Saturday we went and watched the Utah football game with my family. It was great to see my grandparents! It was so fun! Of course, the Utes won! Yay! GO UTES! After the Utah game we caught up with Joe's parents at Brian and Lyndsay's house. We were entertained by Adisyn for about 2 hours. She's in the stage where she'll try to say anything. She was singing, "Here We Are Together," and would try to say every family member's name. It was so cute! Sunday, we went to breakfast with my family. We went to Tammy's Diner. It was so yummy! Sunday night, we went to Rod and Corinne's house for chili. The chili was great! Joe and I both ate way too much! It was so fun to see both families! We love you all! Monday we woke up bright and early and drove back to our cute house in Cedar. The weekend was so much fun, but there is nothing like taking a nap on your own comfy bed!

Our Splurge

2008-09-29T14:58:00.001-07:00

We finally posted pictures so enjoy!

One morning Joe brought in a Deseret Book catalog and showed me a beautiful painting that he said we had to have. I was a little hesitant at first because it was $250, but then we both decided it was time for a splurge. We haven't splurged for a while and decided to treat ourselves. We bought the painting and hung it up in our kitchen. It looks great!!! We just love looking at it. It was our first painting purchase and we are very proud!

Crazy life of the Faits

2008-09-15T19:50:00.001-07:00

Hey Everyone! Sorry I haven't posted anything new for a really long time! Things have been so crazy. Joe is working two jobs now. He works at the Juvenile Justice Center and now he also works as an Administrative Assistant to one of his professors in a program called UGRASP. It will be a great experience for him. It will look great on a resume and applications to grad schools! However, it keeps him busy very every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. Did I mention that he has to dress up on those days and he left most of his dress clothes in Chicago? Good one Joe!
I still work at Roberts, but I also got a second job. I now work at South Elementary. I am a reading tutor and I also take the Extended Day Kindergarten kids to lunch and recess. It is a blast. They are so cute but they also know how to get what they want! I work there everyday and then work at Roberts every Tuesday and Thursday and sometimes Saturday. I just have to remember to do my homework for my 7 classes and I'll be alright.
Nothing real exciting is coming up in our lives. Except, just a few more weeks and I get to start decorating for Halloween. I will definitely post pictures of that!

Our New Weed Eater

2008-07-18T09:50:00.000-07:00

So Joe has been bugging me to let him buy a trimmer. But our lawn is so small I just didn't see the point. But, we went to Wal-Mart and found this little guy for $20. It was so funny to watch Joe trim our lawn. It took him about 4 times as long as it would've with a normal trimmer. It was hilarious!

Our 1 Year Anniversary

2008-07-08T00:40:00.000-07:00

We can finally have our cake and eat it too!

We celebrated our year anniversary while in Michigan at the lake house. When we got back, we finally got to eat the top tier of our wedding cake that had been freezing in Karli's parents' freezer. It was actually way better than we thought it would be! Chocolate with cream cheese filling.... YUMMY!

Wrigley Field

2008-07-07T23:37:00.001-07:00

Hanging out at Wrigley Field

Iowa

2008-07-07T22:46:00.000-07:00

In Iowa, driving to Nauvoo

Nauvoo & Carthage

2008-07-07T22:31:00.000-07:00

We stopped in Nauvoo and Carthage on our way to Chicago. We got to see the gorgeous Nauvoo temple. We also went to the grave site of Joseph Smith. The water from the flooding was coming pretty close to the grave. The picture is just a little down the hill from the grave. You can see just the top part of the fence.

Trip to Chi Town!!!

2008-07-07T22:05:00.000-07:00

This was our motivation to spend over 20 hours in a car... the Cubs game... and boy was it worth it! Unfortunately we were bad luck to our Cubbies, they couldn't pull it off and lost the next few games.
While in Chicago we visited the "Married with Children" fountain. It was so cool! We also saw the giant kidney bean of Chicago. It was fun to look inside.