Home Improvements

We've been working on the yard lately and now have beautiful green wispy baby grass coming up in our front yard and working sprinklers!
With everything torn up we decided that now would be a good time to put in a sidewalk in the backyard- it should be much friendlier in the winter and when it's raining.  I have gotten tired of cleaning muddy and dusty footprints off of my floor and I'm really hoping this helps!

Caroline was pretty happy to watch from inside for a surprisingly long time.

I think the stripes will fade.  Jared think's it's because he only wet his broom every other swipe when he was putting the texture in.

Goooooo Cougars!!!

Jared got invited to go with some of his buddies to the BYU v. Houston game.  I told him he couldn't go if I couldn't.  Okay, I might have said that... but what really happened was that one of the guys couldn't go and so I got to go!  Yipee!!  Caroline stayed with Gma and Gpa Ridges and we had a fun time at the game.  It really is fun to go and be part of the atmosphere, but I also appreciate being able to sit on the comfy couch and hear what the officials are saying. Going to one game a season is just about perfect. :)

The game was on September 11th and they had some really cool memorial things at the beginning and in between the first and second quarter.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zNSJXgOANGY

We were sitting in one of the "L's"

Squaw Peak

Jared had never been to Squaw Peak.  We were already in Provo so we headed up and the timing was PERFECT!  The sun was just barely starting to set when we pulled into the parking area.  It was a little chilly but a beautiful view.

Elder Shields

We were able to enjoy having my nephew, Derek, stay with us for about a week before he went in the MTC.  We did a little shopping and Derek really wanted to go backpacking.  I'd been planning on going but thought better of it since all I really felt like doing at 7(ish) weeks pregnant was sleeping on the couch. So, Caroline and I stayed home while the boys hiked Maple Mountain which is just south of Springville and very visible from our house. Jared called me the next morning and said, "Can you see us?!?"  So I got the binoculars (and was in a bathrobe since I was about to step in the shower when he called)  and was out in the backyard looking at the mountain- I can only imagine what the neighbors were thinking- and after much scrutiny I was able to make out the waving arms of my husband on top of mountain.
I was very glad to hear that neither one of them got eaten by a bear- or elk- or moose- or whatever was making very loud breathing sounds around Jared's tent.  It was apparently a pretty tough hike and it was cool for Derek to be able to see almost the whole Provo mission from the top of the mountain.

Old man ridges couldn't handle his pack- or was just being really dramatic.  

Derek's cool hammock set-up.

The camping spot.

Utah County

Jared at the summit.

Derek at the summit.

Two years later...

Married two years and we're still hanging in there.  For our second anniversary we didn't really do a whole lot thanks to pregnancy related issues.  Yep- as it stands now we're two for two.  Two years of marriage and two offspring (one here and one on the way).  I don't think this is a trend that will continue.  We're shooting for a due date around March 15.

Caroline at 14 months

Yikes! Since I'm only three days away from 15 months it's hard to remember what milestones Caroline hit before 14 months but I'm pretty sure that she:

-Was pulling up on anything and everything but still no walking.
-Possibly said mama and dada and bird. Although it's still quite hard to tell.
-Had a very active pointer finger.
-Loved to watch the hummingbirds at G-ma and G-pa Ridges.
-Enjoyed playing with her toys.  Even by herself.
- Had two teeth! Her top right and her bottom left which she liked to grind together to make mom crazy.
-She also had a rough patch where she was crying for like 15-20 minutes when I put her down at night. It was so sad. Thankfully that only lasted a week and a half or so and I blame teething.

I'm sure she was doing lots of other things, but I'll save it all for the 15 month post.

Here are the pictures: (She's much more mobile- as the pictures will attest.)