Slacking

        Its been a bit since I have updated this, I blame it on finals which is a very legit reason. Bringing this up to date, School is finally over as of yesterday. Thank goodness, I feel like I did well and hopefully my grades reflect that. My attitude however was rather horrendous the last two days of finals though. I suppose staying up at three in the morning is no good, and then tests stressing me out anyway is not a good combination. Thank goodness my wonderful husband understands. I know if I were him I would have exploded on me for how crappy my attitude was. I need to learn how to just chill out and take things in stride more than just making myself sick over silly things.
         So this week was Jon's work Christmas party! What a fun night! It was interesting to see where he works and who he works with. They seem like a crazy bunch, but that is what makes the workplace fun! It was a potluck and surprisingly Autumn ate rather well. There was also a few little kids there for her to play with, and if you think you have heard noisey then just wait till you hear three toddler girls jammin' out and singing together with toy instruments! Oh WOW is all I gotta say about that.
        Another exciting thing for Jon and I this week was December 7th. Yes I know that is also the day we remember Pearl Harbor, what a morbid day that was but in lighter news it is also the day five years ago that Jon and I started dating. I was fifteen and a freshman in highschool. He has been my one and only and my high school sweet-heart. We met in band class..........yes, we were both band geeks. Ha oh well, it brought us together so no complaints there. Now he just has to put up with me as his spouse. I cannot believe its been five years and getting longer and more perfect every day! He puts up with my insane OCD problems about a clean house and I have learned to live with his very forgetful mind. He makes me laugh till I cry, he holds me close when I need him, When we are mad at each other, he still lets me know how much he loves me, he is a wonderful father and my very best friend. With all that I would say band class was definitely worth it!
        We also did family pictures with a very good friend of mine this past week. They are amazing. She has had no training other than just putting herself in there and going for it. I love her work and the most amazing part about it is she is free!!!!! She does it for a hobby!! Whats even better is she edited them and then gave us all the pictures on a disk so we could print out whatever we wanted!!!
         All in all a very productive week!!!

Counting The Days!

So class is almost over for this semester and I cannot begin express my excitement for such things. However this being the last two weeks, every big thing is due, finals, projects, assessments, and evaluations. It goes forever and it feels like one big day that just wont end!!!

Gavin Douglas Lavoie

So an amazing thing happened to our family on November 23rd! Carly and Greg, my brother and sister in laws, had a beautiful baby boy! What a blessing, in the midst of a blizzard that was chilling Evanston to its core, these two were able to bring something or better yet someone so special and wonderful into this world! The family is now one person bigger and better because of this little guy. And what an adorable little boy he is! 8 pounds 4 ounces and 20 inches long!  A big healthy baby! I am such a proud Auntie! I love this little one so much already!

A Pool Party!.......In NOVEMBER!

So as I have said, Autumn's party went off amazingly. It was so fun having our friends and family come and visit her and share the celebration of her special day with her. She sure cleaned house on all those presents. My missy is such a fashionista! A girlie girl to the very core of her, so it came as no surprise that when she opened presents containing Barbies, faeries, coloring pages, stickers, puppies, clothes and shoes, she was in a complete state of bliss. She even went as far to point out that she "did not have this one, and this one, and this one" when she recieved her tinkerbell dolls and saw the other faeries on the back of the box! Greedy....Maybe a little.....Then after her party and swimming till they dropped, we called a day well done and went home, Autumn could not keep her eyes open! A successful party!

Turn Around

Where are you going, my little one, little one
Where are you going, my baby, my own?
Turn around and you're two, turn around and you're four
Turn around and you're a young girl going out of my door

Turn around, turn around
Turn around and you're a young girl going out of my door

Where are you going, my little one, little one
Little dirndls and petticoats, where have you gone?
Turn around and you're tiny, turn around and you're grown
Turn around and you're a young wife with babes of your own

Turn around, turn around

Turn around and you're a young wife with babes of your own

Turn around, turn around
Turn around and you're the young girl going out of the door

Where are you going, my little one, little one
Where are you going, my baby, my own?

Happy Birthday My beautiful Three Year Old!

Let it Snow, Let it Snow, Let it Snow!

Wow! First of all Autumn's party went swimmingly. We had a great turnout and I think she was in this unreal world that she could not believe that it was the day of her party, even when she arrived she was unsure what to think. However that soon went away and the festivities began. Playing with balloons and blowing bubbles and dancing to music with all our friends was a blast. Then we all sat down to sing Happy Birthday and eat her very Barbie, very pink and purple Cupcake cake. It was delicious with my Autumns favorite icing and a Barbie figurine on top. We accented that with some delicious cold milk and there were treats and cookies lining the party table. What a treat! After everyone had their fill of sweets it was time for the Goods! Presents stole little Autumn's attention and paper was flying. She was thrilled that she had Barbies, faeries, Coloring pages, stuffed animals and for the fashionista she is, she got new pajamas clothes and some sparkly new shoes that she wont take off!! After presents we made our way down to the pool where we had fun splashing and chasing each other. What a great day and to finish it out a blanket of snow to cover the ground at night. Which was fine except for the family that has to travel back to Salt Lake, they got stuck at a standstill in Parleys canyon for about an hour. YUCK!!
We woke up to a beautiful morning of snow all over the ground, at least a foot or so. It just makes the season that much more exciting. I cannot wait for the days to come!

Presents!

I am so excited for Autumn's birthday and Christmas this year. I try to do themed Christmases but this year it ended up being a themed birthday/Christmas. I am almost more excited than her for them to be opened! This year in celebration of Toy Story 3 coming out, we got her the Authentic Jessie, Woody, Buzz and Bullseye dolls, along with the Movie.  However since those dolls dont exactly come cheap we decided to split them up and give her Buzz and Woody for birthday and Jessie and Bullseye for Christmas.We also got her a snowsuit, gloves and boots so this year she can enjoy the nine months of snow we have here.

Then for Christmas I got a spectacular idea! This little girl of mine loves to color and create and draw, just ask my fridge, it is smothered in masterpieces. So I went online and found some awesome art stations for children. It has storage for all sorts of things like colored pencils, crayons, markers, drawing pads, coloring books, puzzles and so much more and it has a light so they can feel grown up along with a stool! I am so so excited because I really feel like she is going to enjoy what she got. Santa Claus is one smart guy to come up with such an idea. Then we also decided to get her a humongous toy chest for the mounds of toys she has! The Holidays just are not coming fast enough for my excitement!!!

The Holidays!

I cannot believe how close Christmas and Thanksgiving are. And even closer than that.....Autumn's birthday! A party this Saturday with close family and friends and presents coming out her ears at our house. My baby girl is going to be three years old soon! There just are not words to describe it. Having her at seventeen, going to school, working, raising a baby and keeping a relationship alive got so hectic time slipped away from me. But I took a step back the other day and listened to some wise words of wisdom from my wonderful brother. He told me to just love and make room for nothing else and that life would be what I want it to be, that it really already is but I need to take a breath and live and love to see it.

So I did just that and this is what I found......

My baby girl is going to be three soon. She loves the ABC's song and Twinkle Twinkle Little Star. She loves watching Dora and Diego on T.V. because she then goes on adventures just like they do. Her favorite color is pink and she remembers mine is purple and she points out my favorite color to me on everything to make me smile, she lives to impress and perform. Dancing around the house and making up songs and then singing them to stuffed animal audiences. She is independent and likes to get her own drink and snack from the fridge. She loves rainbows and loves to color and draw her family and She fills up the fridge with masterpieces, she is deathly afraid of spiders, the give her the willies. When she cries, my whole world feels like its crashing down and when she laughs, there is no way to hide the smile it brings, she loves to talk and be friendly, in fact she talks so much she even does it in her sleep. She wants to help, she wants to learn and she wants so bad to just love and have fun......

My husband is the best. We dont have a lot, and I think that sometimes wears on him, as though he is not giving his family the best. However he goes to work every night and on days I have school stays up with Autumn so that I can achieve my dream. He works so hard and never complains about just how much he does. He loves to tinker, he loves to fix things and he is so creative and imaginative that it blows my mind with the inventions and thoughts he comes up with. He gives us everything we need though. Autumn and I have a place we call home, we have warm winter nights cuddled together, food on the table and love in the home and thats all we need to be happy. He does more than he realizes and he loves that little girl of his more than life itself. She has him wrapped around her finger, never has there been a more perfect duo. And as for him and I, its amazing that in such a small town I never had to venture out to find my soul mate, because that is what he is to me. I never am bored with him, I leave the house knowing when I come home he is there. I love when he embraces me because he is so warm and so full of love, it just sends me spiraling.

I am glad I listened to my brother. He knew what he was talking about, I just needed to step back and look at the whole picture. I am glad I did, the smallest details mean so much!

Where Is October???

Oh my goodness where did October go? This is crazy and now we are almost halfway through with November and I have been severely slacking on this thing! To catch up Halloween went amazingly. Autumn was the cutest little kitty and had the cutest home-made costume (which was also my very first attempt at being a crafty mom......I LOVED it!). It was the easiest thing to make as well. All I did was buy black sweat pants and a black turtleneck long-sleeve shirt for her and the rest came easy. The "ingredients" for this were tulle, felt, ribbon, scissors, hot glue, a wire hanger, and a hair band. Like I said....easy..... and she looked so darn cute.

On the Friday before Halloween, downtown Evanston Merchants host an annual trick or treat event where all the kids get to dress up and trick or treat at all the downtown shops and Court house. It is fun and safer for the youger kids and a chance to dress up one more day for the celebration. Autumn cleaned house on that and the downtown area had quite a turnout for how small a town we have here. Then that night we came home and carved our Halloween pumpkins. Autumn had a blast "knocking the pumpkins brains out!" She also enjoyed after the fact that we had cut out the face and the pieces would fit back in just like puzzle pieces.



Daddy's Pumpkin...Scary!



This year I got all into the Fall spirit....It is after all my favorite time of year.....and decorated my front porch to portray my joy. I thought it turned out rather well and I had alot of fun with it.

So then on Saturday the Neely family traveled down to Salt Lake City to visit family and trick or treat down there where we would be a bit warmer for the wear. We met up with my sister Stephanie and my sister Dawnene and her two adorable little girls. They were dressed as a devil and a cowgirl. Well low and behold when we arrived, after the glorious day we had had before, it was gloomy and wet. But that did not stop this clan. We visited Grandma and Grandpa and took Halloween pictures and then set out on our trek.

We visited the South Valley mall where we tricked and we treated until the bags handles were threatening to break off. Autumn saw so many interesting characters along with her favorite princesses. I believe she left a piece of her heart with them.

Stephanie was also a center of attention dressed as the Red Queen and might I say it was the best costume of her I had ever seen, definitely authentic looking.

 After the mall it was pouring cats and dogs. We attempted to trick or treat around the neighborhood, but if rain could ever be more wet than usual, this day was the day that it chose to be so. So the Neely clan went back to the Miller residence, got bathed, dried and changed and then settled down for dinner and movies and coloring. All in all a night to remember!!!

The High's and the Low's

So currently Jon and I have been considering him applying for some new jobs. He is ready for a change and wants to try out a job in the health care area. His dream job of course is to be a Highway patrolman for Wyoming, but for the time being he thinks it would be interesting working as a CNA at the old folks home to pass the time while he is training and waiting to interview for a position as a Highway officer. We were so happy when he turned in his application because the heads of the home were showing high interest in his application and resume. However when he came home today it turned out that the pay was a big cut in what he is currently making. We are still trying to decide and maybe even send me back to work as well as a receptionist (if I can get the job) so we are bringing in a little extra as well. The bummer is we will see each other a lot less at times, but the upside is we can start putting away for new things such as a house and a bigger family. I guess I just have to keep my faith for my little family and let the chips fall where they may.

Wednesdays.......

Ugh! Wednesdays are crazy for the Neely family. It is the morning after Jon's first night back to work and the longest day of both of our lives due to my school. I have class from ten in the morning, which is not bad because that is not too early at all, however I am in school from ten in the morning till about nine fifteen every night, with a two hour break in between. I also have the unfortunate event that daycare is so expensive anymore and everyone else works or is in school with me, so my poor wonderful husband comes home and brings my coffee in the morning, then watches our little girl on zero amount of sleep till we have someone come watch her at four. What a band of troopers we are! On a lighter note I cannot wait for Halloween this year, or any of the holidays really. Autumn is at that age where everything is just so spectacular and magical and the excitement she has makes me feel like a kid again. This year she decided (FINALLY) that she wanted to be a kitty cat for Halloween. I say finally because first it was a princess, then a with, then a princess witch, then a ladybug and then she saw a costume in the store the other day that was a cat and she begged, so it was decided. However instead of buying one of the many cheap looking ones from Walmart, I went and bought material and the supplies to make my own. I am so excited and it is so fun. So far it is turning out great and Autumn is dying to wear it! I absolutely love it!

I Did It!

         As you may notice there is a huge gap between my two posts, but being the anal person I am I felt it did not look right for me to keep going when the design of my blog look boring and dull, and yes it has taken me all this time to fix it and refix it and refix it again and again and again. Finally I was satisfied and I actually enjoyed it because I learned alot of neat tricks and tools to use for future uses, so it wont take me months in between to post. So now that I have explained why I have been slacking on this so much, I am so ready to start this and put all my memories down, so I never forget them.

          It is amazing to me when I watch my daughter grow and change. Right now we are going through this phase where she talks and talks all day and I kid you not, in her sleep as well. There is no getting a word in with her and her energy is so breath-taking and addicting, I cannot help but love her more and more everyday. Lately though the energy has been overwhelming between school and being a mom. Sometimes I feel like I am cutting her short on the attention I give her and that she deserves more from me, that I am a terrible mother. However my attitude changes every night at bedtime when Jon and I put Autumn t

o bed. We read a story from her big Disney storybook and then get on our knees and pray. Listening to that little voice pray every night makes it all worth it. I cannot imagine a more pure prayer than that of a childs and mine is no exception. So I always remind myself during my most worn out days that it will all work out, that everynight my little girl prays for me to have a good day and then I do. I am blessed to have this little being pray for us and sincerely mean her words.

Keeping it Together

We have been together for a little bit over a year now and things are really starting to come together. Marriage is a tricky thing and having a toddler who is as smart as our little girl is makes life so interesting. I am still learning from Jon and he is still learning about me. In all honesty I dont know if we will ever figure each other out, but I suppose that is what makes this all interesting. We just need to keep playing the game. I figured however that it would be nice to have somewhat of an online account or journal of all of our lives together as Autumn, Jon and I grow together, learning from each other.

As Abraham Lincoln once said "The best thing about the future, is that it comes one day at a time."