First trip to Temple Square

Before leaving this neck of the woods and heading to the great unknown, my parents decided to take a random trip to SLC and see the lights and attractions at temple square. The trip was full of fun adventures, including getting lost, freezing temperature, getting lost, fun friends, getting lost... ok they only got lost a couple times- but we survived. :) I really enjoyed the lights.

Despite being bundled I still got really cold. Here is Daddy and me all bundled up. I think they just wanted to dress me up like a shepherd. They insisted on keeping my head covered with the blanket.

We had this picture taken right before leaving, I'll be back someday when it's warmer!

After that outing my parents let me swim in the warm bath tub (someone had pooped in the real pool). I really enjoyed myself. It's there that I discovered the taste of water, it's grrreat!

Aren't I cute! (I am getting a little chub!! Check out those rolls!!)

Mommy and Daddy visited with their friends down there, and they also went through the temple while I got to play with/meet a new little friend, Elizabeth Clements (Mommy's mission companion's daughter).

The cutest kid on the block

I am growing up so fast... so fast in fact my parents haven't had time to put my 6th month stats up yet. They are finally getting to it. So here we go. I was 14 pounds one ounce (12th percentile), a whopping 26.25 inches tall (64th percentile), and my head circumference was 9.75 inches smaller then my height (16.5 inches) -I'm so smart I can even do math! Anyway that puts it in the 30th percentile. I'm more proportionate now, my height is slowing down-thanks Mom!! Anyway there's my digits and here are some pictures of me, showing off my natural curious self.

Exploring the underside of the exersaucer- very exciting!!

That exersaucer was exhausting (this is how I sleep, once I struggle free from my straight jacket of a swaddle)

Allie's 1st Christmas!!

Better late than never, right? We just like to keep the Christmas spirit alive. We hope everyone had a wonderful holiday season.

We had a very nice, relaxing Christmas morning at home this year. Allie actually let us sleep in, and then we had fun watching her open presents. We video-taped her opening some gifts, but for some reason, we cannot get the video clips off of the video camera. She had fun ripping the wrapping paper, and she especially enjoyed eating it. She got some very fun gifts, including a ball popper from Grandma and Grandpa Carpenter, rings that stack, blocks, books, and a move and crawl ball that sings. She also got a very cute crocheted hat from Grandma Carren and other clothes. She also received a beautiful cross-stitch birth announcement from our good friend Becky Lee.

Here are some of the pictures. Sorry again that we cannot share any videos from Christmas at this time.

Allie with her stocking

Another one of Allie with her stocking

Playing with her stacking rings

Allie in her hat from Grandma Carren. So cute!

Having fun unwrapping gifts

She liked gift bags, too

Opening another gift - it was a really cute dress

The beautiful, and cute cross-stitch from Becky

Becky framed the cross-stitch for us. It is in a white frame. It really looks good. The white spot in the picture is from the flash - sorry. We just included this picture so that you could see the words and detail around the words better.

Thanks everyone for helping us have a wonderful Christmas! We hope everyone is having a wonderful start to the new year. May it bring us all more wonderful blessings!

The Beginning of the Unknown...

We're finally catching up on the blog. A lot has happened in the last month. To start, Jared graduated from Brigham Young University - Idaho with his Bachelor's of science in Mechanical Engineering on December 19th. It was a wonderful and exciting day. Here are some pictures from his graduation.

President & Sister Clark and Elder Scott

Jared receiving his diploma cover from Elder Scott

The Happy Family

Jared's Mom and step dad, Dick, joined us for the day.

Jared's sister, Michelle, also joined us.


Daddy and Daughter

So now, as the title of the post says, it is the beginning of the unknown. We do not know what the future holds for us. Jared is applying to graduate school all over the country. Three applications have been submitted and three more will soon follow. We are just waiting to hear where he gets in so that we can pray to know where is right for us.

Since Jared's job was a student job on campus, he is no longer able to work there since graduating. Nikki has picked up more hours at work, and Jared is Mr. Mom. He has applied to Bambino's, some sort of Italian/pizza pocket place. Once his graduate school applications are all submitted and he has retaken the GRE, Jared will likely focus more on applying for jobs. He will retake the GRE on January 27th.

We are considering buying a new car, but are not sure if we will be able to afford the one we would really like to get. Both of our cars are paid for, but one is a 1995 VW Golf with 190,000+ miles on it, and the other is a 1993 Ford Ranger, which actually only has 77,000 miles. Depending on where Jared gets in, we could potentially be moving across country, and it would be good to get a more reliable family car. The car of our dreams right now is the Hyundai Elantra Touring, but because it is really new, the only option would be to buy a 2010 (which = more $$ than we have). We are probably going to sell both of our cars and get a newer one, but we don't know how new or what kind of car, yet. Any recommendations?

Something else that we are trying to decide is if we want to move for the last 6 months or so that we will be here in Rexburg. Our contract will end March 31st, and signing a new contract would mean another $15/month increase in rent. That increase would make it $40/month more than when we first moved in. So we have some decisions to make.

All in all, we are doing really well. We are happy and healthy.