AHHHHH!

So I don't really have a lot to tell you besides the fact that I cut my hair! I finally did it....Dana helped me decided and I actually love it so far! Let me know what you think? Oh and Justin is good...he was just made Zone Leader! :) Anyway love you all. xoxo

Adventures of Noelle and Zak

We took a trip to Modesto to visit Zak's friends that are getting married in a couple weeks, this past week. It was really fun to see more of where Zak spent a lot of his youth! We went to a donut shop that his dad used to take him to on Saturdays. There was a group of old timers there that were halarious to talk to! Then, we headed over to Zak's old house :) This is a picture of it. The family that lives there was a young couple with two kids. She let us in to look around too! Zak said that they had done a lot of work on the house and it looks a lot smaller than it seems in his memories. It was such a cute house and fun to be able to see!

The whole office went to Santa Cruz last Sunday ( a week ago) and spent some time at the beach. It was really warm and the water felt really nice! We were with our friends, Jason and Tiffany, while the other guys in the office were playing volleyball closer to the boardwalk. We just wanted to rent boogie boards and play in the water all day! It was a BLAST! Zak and I went together and the waves were HUGE... I got sucked under a few times... good thing the picture is blury cuz my hair was a rat's nest! I swallowed some salt water too... eeww

The night before we all went to Santa Cruz, we had a bonfire with everyone... It was a place called Lake Berryessa just about 1/2 hr away. It was really fun to get away from the city and see the gorgeous stars. We had to hike down the side of this hill to get to the lake and none of us brought flashlights! So we used our phones... the hike back up was somethin else :)


Skinny dippers!!!! jk... some of the guys brought their swimmers and jumped in the dark, cold lake. It was pretty funny- they were basket tossing eachother into the air as high as they could. Pretty entertaining for the crowd that was watching!

Last, but not least, this is my growing belly at 13 weeks! :) This Monday I will be 14 weeks, but my stomach won't change much. I'm also sporting the cute little dress that Mom sent to me. I think it emphasizes my roundness... cuz most of the time you still can't really tell that I'm pregnant if you didn't know already. The baby is now the size of a lemon and just developed his or her own fingerprints! It's only about 2-2 1/2 inches long, which is crazy to think that so much can be compacted into such a small human being! Also, its developing hair patterns... not growing it yet, I don't think.

So, that's us for now! This upcoming week is going to be a fun one too... we're going back to Fresno for Ben and Angela's wedding. They get married on the 3rd. We're really excited and I'm a little nrevous cuz I am taking the wedding pictures! I'm sure it will be fine though... Hope everyone is doing well and POST things family! What's new with Dana and Landon? We love you guys! :)
Noelle, Zak, and baby

Welcome Home!

Well this page has been kinda slow with ya'll off 4-wheelin' and cliff climbin' so I'm excited that you are headed home. Dana and Landon we're excited that you have a new place to call home and hope all goes well as you get settled in! To make this post more interesting I thought I would add a picture of our little princess. Don't be tricked by her sweet face, she is starting to monkey around! The last few days when I go in to check on her during naps I find her scooched all the way into the corner looking very proud of herself. Silly girl! :)

The Big Gradgiation!

Since I don't have a picture of Landon the closest I could get is Mike graduating last year. Maybe someone can replace it later. We're so happy for the "Landanas" and their big accomplishments! Congrats on being done with school, getting a good job, and the big move. Hope you guys are all having fun down in Durango and be sure to post lotsa pics when you get back!

Paterfamilia Prediction!

Noellie...your belly looks swell! And it's doing just that! I'm excited for you. I'm going to go out on a limb and make my"Paterfamilia Prediction". Mike and I were right when we predicted a little girl with Maddie, but for some reason I can't get a little boy out of my mind. So, there you go. Done deal. You're having a boy Noelle. So you can just pick out boy names. Can't wait to see him honey. (Actually I want you to have both...a goy and a birl. We'll love himer or herm...doesn't matter). Much love, Poppp xo

12 Weeks!

Hey fam! I just got an e-mail update from a website I signed up for that tells you how far along you are and how the baby is growing. Its way fun to read about and to look at the pictures. So here is a picture of our little one growing! When I came to visit you guys the baby was the size of a grape... last week, the size of a fig, and the 12th week our baby is the size of a lime! Wow! He or she is growing fast! I've started to feel a lot better and I'm so glad! I still get naustious sometimes... oh well. I've started to sleep with a pillow under my stomach too so that the baby can rest on that instead of hang down to the bed. I get worried sometimes that I might be squishing it! I heard that laying on my back is a bad thing to do after the 3 month mark because of the uterus. Is that true? Also, here is a picture of me and my belly. Not too big yet... but growing! I can't fit into my two favorite dresses anymore! :( Anyway, I just wanted to let you all know of my new found info! I hope all is going well for everyone. I love you guys! Noelli

Letter from a Missionary

Hey I got a letter today fresh from the MTC! I couldn't tell for sure if he got my card, but I assume so because he wrote back. He says he is praying for rain (I'm dreaming of it), he has a picture of Maddie next to his desk that makes him laugh, he loves his big Samoan companion, Spanish is 'crazy', and he's working on his handwriting. He sounds very positive and happy. It was fun to hear from Elder Casperson! Rah rah rah, shish coom bah! :) ~Lauren

See new pictures of Maddie...

<------ over yonder!

The BIG 23!

Hey everyone! Thanks for sending Zak birthday wishes on his birthday! He loved either hearing from you or getting your presents! He said that he had a good one... but I feel bad cuz we didn't really do much. Obviously, he had to work all day, but I made him breakfast in the morning... a yummy, BIG OL' confetti cake, and dinner. He opened his presents right when he woke up cuz he was so excited! But, its fun that he is finally as old as me! :) So here are some pictures!

We didn't have any candles, so we used 23 mataches all put together in the middle of the cake! It was so cool when I lit it! It was a huge fire! :)

Love you all and miss you guys like crazy!

Noelle

Mohawk girl

During Maddie's bath this morning I realized her hair is getting long enough to play with! This is what we came up with. Isn't she yummy???

Good News!

So I don't have any pictures to include but I just wanted to let everyone know the good news. I got an email from Justin today and he got called as District Leader...I know its not as big of a deal because its just in the MTC but I thought it was cool! And for the brother-in-laws or Dana...those of you who know...what exactly does that mean, district leader...what does he do in that calling the makes him different than just a regular missionary...Well anyway thats all. Hope life is wonderful for all of you! I love you and miss you all! xoxo
Love~Em

COUSINS

It was fun to see some of our favorite cousins! Friday night we went out to dinner at a yummy pizza restaurant, and Saturday they spent all day on the Strip while we stayed home with little Maddie. We figured she had had enough excitement for one week! Sunday they ate a big breakfast with us, caught an early Sacrament meeting, and headed out. We had some good laughs and got all caught up on the news. Jesse and Jen are working hard on their new home--Jess is doing tile, painting, molding and other stuff himself! Jen can't wait to decorate the nursery. She looked through my Pottery Barn catalogs and got some great ideas! Gini and Andy also just bought a home, a brand new one in Bakersfield. They looked at over 100 homes in the last month before making their decision! It is a really cute one level, 4 bedroom home that they plan to be in for a few years. I think they enjoyed their trip to Sin City, aside from a nasty Circus Circus experience and the weird food at Denny's! :)

P.S. Be sure to check past posts for comments... thanks everybody for posting!! Now we just have to get Cole to.

It sure was fun seeing all of you over the 4th of July! Thanks for coming down Dana and Landon. It wouldn't have been the same without you guys there! I'm glad that I got to suprise you all too. It made it more special for me, even though the surprise wasn't much of a surprise! You guys all had it figured out. Stinkers! I love getting together as a family and at my house. It is a little cramped, but it was fun. So, I was looking through my pictures and I have a lot more than I thought I did (thanks to Cole for stealing the camera). I tried to post one that haven't been posted yet... here they are.

This sure was a memory brought back, I think to all of us! Dad got these fun marbles from Em and Lauren. Did anyone beat you, Dad? You still are the reigning champ I believe!

Who's feet are these and how did you do that!?

DAD! What happened to you? We must have gotten our dorkyness from you!

Dad and Mike had to go through a lot to get this grill a-goin'! It was yummy! Thanks for the $4 BBQ set, Mike. It will be put to good use!

I had to take a picture of the firefighters. When they drove by, I kinda got teary-eyed... I have a tender spot in my heart for firefighters:) It is so cool that people will see Zak as a hero once he gets on a fire department. He'll get to be in parades too! We loved the missionaries too... That was a close call, huh Em? I loved that the crowd cheered as loud for them as they did for the Army! I also thought I'd add the pic of all of us so Mom could be in one. You're so festive!

What a cute family! Lauren, you said that you wanted the cutest one of these, so I thought I'd post it even though someone else has already, to see if you wanted my copy. I think we all couldn't get enough of our adorable little Maddie. We love you baby girl!

Well, that's it for now. I'll start posting my belly in progress soon... I've got to catch it before it starts growing too much! I love you all!

Noelle and Zak

Mom's first try!

Yep, your old Mom is trying to get up to speed on this blog stuff! Since most of you have been posting about our fun 4th of July, I decided to go back a bit. This first one is Dad off in heaven. He finally talked Emily into a foot rub! She didn't even ask for a nickel! It was his favorite Fathers Day gift.
Cole looks so excited to share Dad's birthday cake. It was a 100% organic one we got in Park City. Happy Birthday Dad!
Wow! look at that Hot Car! When Justin came to say goodbye before he went off to the MTC he dropped by in his sizzling little Shelby. Dad and Cole went for a ride. I opted to just admire from a distance. Maybe I'll be brave enough in two years.
We went up to see the beautiful Sawtooth Mountians to celebrate Dana's birthday, this is in Stanley.
Two man kiaking is harder than it looks. Redfish Lake was pretty rough because of the wind, but we still had a great time. We were soaked by the end of the day!

Well Kido's, I did it. I won't remember how next time so Em will have to sit right by me again. Something about Old Dogs and New Tricks! I love you all. I'm already looking forward to our next get together!

XOXOXO, Mom

Update on Elder Casperson :)

Hey family! So life hasn't been too exciting since we all parted but I did get a tape and some pictures from Justin yesterday so I thought I would let you know how things are going. He is doing very well and trying hard to have a good attitude. He is almost done with his third week and time has been going pretty quick. He loves his companion and the boys that he shares a room with and he told me some crazy stories about the guys in his district. Overall he seems to be doing well and learning a lot. Although he would still really love to hear from any and all of you. Thanks Noellie for writing him! :) Here are a few pics of him...isn't he such a cute missionary? Keep praying for him! Thanks for all the support. I love you guys. xoxo

My First Blog Ever

This is all new to me so I hope that it works! We had a blast visiting for the 4th and are so excited for Noelle and Zak too! More kids to spoil! Hooray!!! Little Madison was so dang cute... I know that we all wish that we could see her more. Here are some pictures that I thought were cute! And thanks Lauren for adding that great picture of me... Aren't I gorgeous? You can tell I am new at this because my pictures are really sparatic... I have no idea what I am doing. I am tired of trying to figure it out so I am just going to post. Love you all! What would it be like to actually be able to even reach our toes to suck on them?

CONGRATULATIONS!

Noelle and Zak, we are soooooo happy for you! Congrats on the bun in the oven. Noelle, you are a good little white liar (see previous post for evidence) but we are so happy you surprised us with your visit and announcement. Being a parent is so much fun. We can't wait to see what the Zoelle Factory can make! :)

Man, I don't know about you all, but it's hard to come back from vacation. I'm lonely!!! I miss Emily's constant companionship and all the busy-ness of family togetherness. Now it's back to laundry, cooking, watering my plants (they didn't die completely!), and blogging! At least I have sweet Maddie to keep me company. I took a picture of her in her new outfit for you all to admire. Thanks for the spoilage Mom! I will post some other pictures from the trip too. See our blog (link at left) for more. Everyone else should post their favorite pictures too! ~Love, Lauren