Our BitterSweet Life*

Bodey Dell Bitter

2012-01-26T11:47:00.000-07:00

I know some have been waiting patiently for me to get around to this blog post...sorry! Better late than never right?

This is for Journaling purposes so it's a little detailed :).

Our little Bodey decided to make his way into this world a little earlier than we expected. On Thursday, January 5th Matt and I went to the doctor for out bi-weekly appointment for an ultrasound and a non-stress-test. The ultrasound showed that Bodey had finally flipped head down (he had been transverse the whole time) and the tech said she thought we would "be seeing some action really soon". During the non-stress-test I was having regular contractions on the monitor, but didn't think anything of it because they were not too intense. We met with the doctor and he gave me some medicine to help with the Choleostasis itching and told me that he wanted me to wait until my scheduled c-section to have the baby if I could. (I was itching SO BAD I wanted him to take him ASAP!) After our appointment we went grocery shopping at Wal-Mart. About every 10 minutes I would have to stop and breath trough a contraction.

I started timing the contractions on my iPad and by the time we got home they were 5-7 minutes apart. So I laid down and ate some food. They still didn't stop. So I took a shower and did my hair (just in case) and they still didn't stop. I laid down again and by this time it was 9:30 and the contractions were 3-5 minutes apart. I called Labor and Delivery and asked what I should do. They said because of my high risk situation I should come in to be monitored. I kind of rolled my eyes, still thinking i wasn't REALLY in labor, and kept watching TV.

About 11:00 I talked myself into going to the hospital. Matt and I packed our bags, put in the car seat, and off we went....kind of. We got half way to Sage Junction and I told Matt to turn around. (He was so supportive the whole time and was being so nice to me despite all of my crazy pregnant-ness!) So he pulled over and said, "Let's just say a prayer. It will make us both feel better." So he said a prayer and we headed back to the house. We drove one mile and we both looked at each other and knew we needed to turn around again and head to the hospital (EIRMC).

My contractions were 2-3 minutes apart when we got to the hospital and stayed consistent while they monitored me for 15 minutes. They called my doctor and he wanted them to try and stop the contractions if it was false labor so they hooked up an IV (after 2 misses in my hands...OUCH!!!!) The contractions weren't stopping but according to the nurses I wasn't dialating. They admitted me and got us situated to stay the night. The contractions got stronger as the night went on and neither of us got much sleep.

At 8:20 my doctor came in and checked me and I was dilated to a 3. This meant he could do a c-section and take the baby! Matt and I were in SHOCK and were sure after the long night we were getting sent home. We started to text and call our parents and siblings. From there things went SO FAST and at 9:24 am on January 6th Bodey Dell Bitter was born! He weighed 7 lbs. 1 oz. and was 20 1/4 inches long. He was 2 1/2 weeks early. (All photos, except one of Grandma Klingler, taken by Tammy Morrill)

The operating room was a bit scary but once my epidural was in and Matt was there I was okay. The nurse who took Bodey was such a sweet lady and kept telling him how "pretty" and "beautiful" he was. Matt got to watch them do all the little things to him and then he brought him over to me. It was so amazing! When we were in the recovery area Matt's mom and Aunts were all outside the room waiting to hear the news. They were all there because Matt's grandma was in the same hospital and was finding out her diagnosis that day. Matt took Bodey and held him up to the window for them. In the recovery area I fed Bo his first bottle and he took it like a champ! Then Matt took him to give him his first bath. Some of his uncles and aunts got to watch him do the bath through the nursery windows.

They finally moved us to a regular room and got us all set up there. Matt's mom and sisters were the first to come in and meet Bodey. Daren, Matt's dad, was on his way home from North Dakota so he didn't get there until a little while later. My parents came down after my mom got out of school. All through the day and for the next 2 days Bodey was visited by endless aunts, uncles, cousins, grandparents, and friends.

The afternoon that he was born, Bodey's Great-Grandma Klinger was diagnosed with terminal cancer. They gave her 2 weeks to live. This news was devastating for the entire family. She had been so healthy months before and it was a hard to think she wouldn't be with us much longer. Many tears of joy and sadness were shed this day as we welcomed Bodey into this world and prepared to send our beloved grandma into the next.

After the news sunk in a bit we began to think about the Lord's timing and what all of this news meant. We had named Bodey after Grandma Klingler's husband Dell who had passed away 7 years ago. We realized she would be with him again soon and this brought us great comfort. She had missed him so badly. As I was thinking about things I remembered something I had come across when I was looking for baby names. Bodey meant "messenger" in a French translation. I truly believe that little Bodey was sent on that particular day to be a messenger from heaven; bringing a message of peace, comfort, love, and truth to our family. He reminded us of the Plan of Salvation and that our grandma was going back home. That she had simply completed her journey. That there were many loved ones awaiting her arrival...especially her beloved companion, Dell.

On Sunday we were discharged from the hospital. Before we went home we were able to go to Grandma Klingler's room and see her. She was happy and alert. She held Bodey and played with his feet and hands. She wrote on her whiteboard (she couldn't talk because of a tracheotomy) and smiled with us. She told us that Bodey was her 29th great-grandchild. She was such a proud grandma. It was impossible to hold back the tears. The spirit was strong and there was so much love in the room.

The next week we visited grandma on Wednesday, the day after they brought her home from the hospital. She was not very alert but was able to reach out her arms to Bodey and mouth "Hi Bodey". She held him for a moment with Matt's help. It was so hard to see her in that state, but I like to think that seeing Bodey again took away some of the pain and brought her joy.

The next day, just six short days after receiving her diagnosis and the birth of Bodey, grandma passed away. The weekend was filled with family gatherings and funeral services. Arlene Klinger was one of the most loving, kind, thoughtful, and real women that I have ever known. She took me into her family like I was one of her own grandchildren and loved me just the same. She and Dell raised an incredible family and have left an unforgettable legacy to their children. Their strong testimonies of faith and family are very apparent in their children's lives and can't help but be noticed by outsiders. I feel so blessed to have known her for 6 short years. I can only hope and pray that Matt and I can live a life and leave a legacy as beautiful as she and Dell have done.

Because of all of the events we haven't been home a whole lot. Even with Bodey, we felt like it was important to be a part of the family gatherings and spend as much time with family as we could. But now we are exhausted! It has been so nice to rest this last little bit and I am looking forward to the rest of my break from work and spending it with my sweet little boy and my husband! I am healing great and feel awesome. It was not half as hard as I thought it was going to be! Bodey is doing great and growing like a weed! I can't believe three weeks have gone by! It's unreal. It has all been one big blur, but an even bigger blessing! I can honestly say that after this month I KNOW that the Lord does NOT make mistakes and that He will do things in His own time, in His own way, and that it is OKAY- even if we don't agree or know why. I know that Bodey wasn't supossed to be apart of our family until this specific time. I know that all of the trials we have gone through to get him here have made me a better person and has stregthened my testimony, my marriage, and my commitment to relying on the Lord. I know that grandma was supossed to leave this earth the way she did and is so much happier now. The Plan of Salvation is REAL and the Lord shows us that it is every day...we just have to look for it.

Since I have a second...

2012-01-05T11:47:00.000-07:00

and am not holding a crying baby yet, I figured I could do a little blogging!

Baby Update: (because this is REALLY the reason we check each other's blogs ;)...) I am going to the doctor now (and have been for about a month) for bi-weeekly Non-Stress Tests (NST) and once a week ultrasounds. It has been SO SUN to see our little guy every single week! He is quite the character and cannot decide which position he wants to be in. He has had his little head on my right, left, up and down all within a months time. He is also a big boy (has measured in the 70th percentile and 2-3 weeks big on every ultrasound from the beginning) so it's not exactly comfortable for mom when he is trying to still do flip-flops in there! It has been fun watching my belly grow (and stretch :-/...) and has been fun letting everyone feel him kicking and wiggling around. Katelyn especially loves to feel him wiggle and it's been fun to watch her bond with him...she is going to be such a fun Aunt!
I have felt REALLY REALLY GREAT with this pregnancy up until New Year's Day. I woke up during the night really sick and then I started to itch on my hands and feet. The next day went into get an NST and the doctor noticed I was swollen. They ran labs and had me do a few tests and determined that I have Preeclampsia and that I may also have Choleostasis (still waiting on more labs). Both of these things would explain my symptoms. I have been trying to feel better but I have been up every night ofr hours itching and just feeling blah so it's hard to function during the day. I finally asked Matt for a blessing last night and slept for 10 hours! It was great! I have an appointment today and am hoping they can do more for my itching...I am starting to bleed/scab and am not to fond of sleeping with ice-packs to make the itch go away. So far the doctor has just told me to take it easy and they will continue running labs and watching the baby to make sure everything is ok. At this point he thinks it's best to let him cook a little longer and keep on track for our c-section date of the 17th. I am a little nervous because I know what I have can get worse and be really bad, but I have confidence in my doctor so I guess I will just have to hang on a bit longer to meet this little guy! AND as much as I am not liking being the cranky, itchy, swollen, pregnant lady (especially after such an easy pregnancy)....IT WILL ALL BE WORTH IT!

37 Weeks and counting!!! :)

Name: I never ever thought I would be one to name my baby before they were born. In fact I could never see how people could do it. BUT our little man has a name. He has actually had a name ever since Matt and I started dating, but we didn't know it was him until now. When I was at esthetic school in SLC I knew a girl whose boyfriend's name was Bode. I had never heard the name before and fell in love with it. When Matt and I talked baby names (because that's something we did...even when we dated...weird?), I mentioned it to him and he loved it too. Matt and I also talked a lot about our families and we knew we wanted our kids to be named after people we love and admire. Matt was close to his grandpa Klingler and has always told me stories about him. His name was Dell. I thought Dell would make a great middle name and even went with Bode. Fast forward to now. We know a couple more "Bode, Bodie, Bowdy"'s but still love the name. Actually EVERY SINGLE PREGNANCY I have had, we have talked about calling our baby boy Bodey Dell. This pregnancy we finally let it stick once we found out it was a boy. We just couldn't call him anything else! So we had to pick a spelling (which was SO HARD) and explain to people that it's "Bodey" not "Brody" (lol). But we still love it. And Dell worked PERFECT for a middle name because Matt's grandpa K's bday is on the 22nd of January and my original due date was the 24th. So our little boy's name is (drum roll please)......

Bodey Dell Bitter

Other stuff: I love winter. Not the snow, but the fact that my husband gets to be home! It has been a blast having him around. He has taken me to all my appointments and has been helping me get things ready for Bodey. I am so grateful to have a patient, loving husband who puts up with me!!

We have both been busy with new callings and work, but we have somehow managed to find a ton of time to hang out with the family over the holidays (which I took ZERO pictures of...) and get Bodey's room all ready. Here are a few shots...I still have nothing on the walls, but I'm okay with that :).

Matt chose the crib bedding/theme...AIRPLANES! I love it.

This is a dresser I refinished/painted. I love how it turned out. The picture doesn't do it justice! The red looks awesome in the room and with the bedding!

So, I THINK we are ready for him to come now. Between an amazing baby shower my family threw me and such a thoughtful surprise shower the Young Women gave me...we have so much stuff for Bodey and he is so spoiled and loved already!
Life it great, just need my baby to finish cooking and life will be even greater!! :)

Harvest

2011-10-05T19:00:00.001-06:00

Can I just say that I love harvest break? Yeah it was nice when I was a kid and all, but this harvest has been fantastic! Maybe because this is the first year I have really had to enjoy it as an adult! This is what I have been up to:
-Canning with my dad. (Anyone need any applesauce? It's coming out of my ears!!)
-Stocking up on food storage.
-Trying out new recipes (and freezer meals!) from the AMAZING "Pinterest".
-Reading!! (Treasure Island, The Midwife's Apprentice, and now I am starting on Uglies.)
-Watching LDS General Conference...which was WONDERFUL!! (Watch/Listen HERE)
-Taking Matt food on the tractor. (Spoiled boy!)
-Growing a baby :)
-AND MY FAVORITE OF ALL.........PROJECTS!
Yes, I have a new addiction that has made me a bit of a project freak the pat little bit. My addiction is called "Pinterest". Yeah, it's amazing. Here is what I have made from my list of "pins":
-Frame makeover

-Owl ornament (for the babe) :) Pattern HERE.

-Fabric "zoo book"...LOVE IT!!! Tutorial HERE.

-Fishy toy! Idea from HERE.

I also have a few crafts in the works that I can't wait to finish! Some are Christmas and Birthday presents so I might have to wait to post them. ;)
Yeah, I'd have to say that harvest pretty much ROCKS! I do miss my students and am getting excited to be back to school, but I am definitely enjoying the break!

I guess I'll throw in a pic of me and my growing belly while I am at it:

24 weeks! YAY! I have another doc. apt tomorrow. I am feeling awesome and am, no doubt, getting larger. His kicks are getting stronger and higher every week. My favorite part of the day is when daddy is home and he gets to feel the little guy squirming around! So cute.
So life is good and I am loving my little break. Can't ya tell? ;)

By special request...

2011-08-06T21:28:00.001-06:00

So my friend Natalie so kindly reminded me that I need to take/share some belly pics. Yeah, lets just say I haven't taken any except for one today. My camera has been lost in the moving mess and I found it yesterday...so I decided I should probably document some of this pregnancy. :)
Here I am in all my prego glory (plus I just ate, so that definitely doesn't help) just a day and a half shy of 16 weeks:

I feel like I shouldn't be looking so pregnant, especially since I have stayed in the same 5 lb. range that I bounced back and forth in pre-pregnancy. So with no weight gain it seems weird to look in the mirror and see a belly. But I will take it!!!!
Thought i would throw this pic in for fun...This was taken when I was 5 weeks pregnant with baby #1. I was the same weight, size etc. This is basically what I looked like at 5 weeks with this pregnancy, just 3 years older and different hair :)

If you missed my facebook status update about a week ago, we found out early that we are having a BOY!!! The doctor said he was 300% sure and he got all sorts of good shots. We believe him and are sooooooo excited! Matt about hit the roof when they said "boy"! This kid is going to be a daddy's boy for sure! Here's a cute little peak :)

Anyway, things are going great. This little guy has already been spoiled rotten by grandmas, sister-in-laws, sisters, and of course his mamma. I keep thinking that he had better come or else I am going to have a really sweet stash of baby shower gifts!! ;)
We are slowly getting things somewhat organized in our new house, I will be back to work in two weeks, and Matt is anticipating starting grain harvest any day! The little man is growing and looking great, I have been feeling really good (with the occasional wave of nausea), and life is great!

Our little big news :)

2011-07-15T16:24:00.003-06:00

I'm back. I wish I could say "by popular demand", but it's more of a nagging in my brain that tells me I need to start blogging so I can justify my blog-stalking. :) Which by the way, I lost ALL of my blog addresses in my little make-over process....ugh. So if you stalk me and wouldn't mind me stalking you then could you send me a message or an e-mail with your blog address? That'd be great. (mbbitter@gmail.com) If not I might find other ways to get your blog address and I will stalk you without permission ;0).

Anyway, on with updates and news I'm sure you are all dying to hear.

GRADUATION/JOB:
First off, I graduated in December (I walked anyway) then finished up with student teaching in April.

It feels SO AMAZING to be done with school. I am so grateful for the experiences I had at BYU-I and for all of the great people I met there. Most of all I am grateful for the best husband and family in the world who supported me through 2 1/2ish years of non-stop school! You guys motivated me and helped me so much...I seriously could not have done it without you! Along with that news I passed all certifying requirements and am now a licensed K-8 Elementary Teacher in the state of Idaho! Yay! I have a job this next year at Terreton Elementary teaching a reading program for the junior high and teaching the advanced learners grades 3-6. I am so excited! I could not have asked for a better job in a more perfect place! Which leads me to my next news...

MOVING:

We moved! That's right. We are now living in Terreton! Matt has been commuting to work for the past 4 years of our marriage so we figured since I was done with school and got a job in Terreton we might as well make the move. The house we are living in is so wonderful and is so much more that we could have ever hoped for. I am not sure how long we will be here, but I know that no matter how long it is we will enjoy every minute! The yard is so big and such a joy after living in a townhouse for two years. We are just country kids and need grass and dirt roads to play on ;)

(taken 2010)

Now we can shoot guns and dig spuds right in our back yard!
We are so happy to be here and feel so blessed to have the chance to live and work on the farm! Ever since I was little I have dreamed of living on a farm and raising my kids on a farm. I can't believe we actually have the chance now. I tell Matt every day he makes all my dreams come true...and he does! Love that boy :)

BABY IN MY BELLY!:

Alright...now on to the news that everyone really came to my blog to hear. This is "our little big news". So if you are reading this you most likely know my history with trying to have babies. For those of you that don't or aren't up to speed here's the scoop: Matt and I have been trying to have kids since we have been married (4 years). I have had 6 miscarriages, all between 6 and 8 weeks. I have tried different medications relating to hormones, my Crohn's Disease, and other things. Nothing has worked....until now :)....we hope! I found out I was pregnant in May, which was a shock because I had just miscarried in March and I have never gotten pregnant that quick after a loss. I went to my doctor and asked him if we could try a medication I had been researching. It's called Heparin and it is an injectable blood thinner. He was on board so I started the medication right away. After 8 weeks of twice a day shots and lots of vitimins, nausea, tears, scares, and ultrasounds...I am excited to announce that baby # 7 is 12.4 weeks along and is looking so healthy and so cute! My due date has changed a few time (which I guess is normal since I had a ton of ultrasounds in the first trimester). But the official due date now is January 24, 2012.

4 weeks....

7 Weeks...

10 Weeks...top-4D, bottom-regular

At our 10 week ultrasound the heartbeat was 169 bpm and the baby was measuring right on track. We have seen healthy heartbeats with some of our other babies, but never past 8 weeks. So we are pumped that I have made it this far and that the baby is doing so well. We really think it's the injections that are doing the trick for us. I have felt pretty good and have only had occasional nausea etc. Just in the last two weeks have I really felt my gut starting to change and am feeling like I am in the "are you getting fat or are you pregnant?" stage. Luckily I have lost weight and not gained any :). So, fingers crossed and you can bet we are praying hard that this little guy or gal keeps on growing! We find out the sex in a month...I cannot wait! Thank you to everyone who has kept us in your thoughts and prayers through this whole trial. The prayers have been felt and I take comfort in knowing so many of you have cared. Obviously we don't know what the future will bring, but I am grateful for all of the trials I have had and know that they have only made me better and stronger!

Phew...that was a lot of news. As you can tell life has been treating us pretty well lately. We feel so blessed and honestly could not ask for one more thing!

No promises on being faithful in the blogging world, but I will try ;).

We Love Zimbabwe!

2010-11-12T12:47:00.001-07:00

Last year around this time our family was privelaged to help a few pro golfers gather items to ship to Zimbabwe (click here to learn about them...they rock!). Matt's brother Marshall was privileged to get to know these ladies on his mission and we are so blessed to still be in contact with them! An e-mail we recieved showed us where some of last years donations went....

Both Harare Stake Young Women’s Camps received sleeping bags, journals, hygiene kits,clothing, towels etc. (almost 500 Young Women in total) HOW COOL IS THAT??? I cried when I saw all the pictures of these girls loving their new things. Also something that was said is that some of these girls only own one pair of clothing. Can you imagine?? Also, if you don't remember here is what Matt's sister Krystal gathered for her Young Women project:

And here is Matt and I delivering the goods and Matt on top helping pack up the crates:

A few days ago Reeve and her friends (the golfers) found out that their golf sponsors are allowing them to trade their "goods" they would normally be sponsored with at events for 2 empty crates to ship to Zimbabwe!
We are thrilled about this news and are planning to make a trip down to Utah in the next while (between the 15th and the 25th of NOVEMBER). We have started gathering items to take down with us (including a ton of clothes from our closets that will hopefully be used by some of those sweet girls!) It is a lot funner for me to give things when I know EXACTLY where they are going and when I know the person who will be handing my things over to those who need it. (A lot better than taking it to DI and never knowing what happens to it!)

If you or anyone you know would like to help us gather items, here is a list. (Notice that there are many medical items as well. If you know any doctors that would be interested in donating, that would be fabulous! ) Also, as you look over the list remember that every little bit counts. We are not giving a ton ourselves, but we are giving...and that is what matters! If you do not have any of the items or do not want to go out and search for them, Matt and I will be making a trip to the dollar store to buy things to take- so money is welcome if you wish! Thanks Everyone...love you all! :)

· Books (Bibles especially as the African people have a GREAT reverence and respect for The Lord’s word, Bibles in turn will allow the Children an opportunity to become literate)

· Reading Glasses (strengths +1.5 to +4) While we were distributing Bibles to the Children out in the bush from your last shipment we further realized the vast importance of reading glasses as there are thousands of Orphans and often times their only living Relative will be a Grandmother who knows how to read and could teach the Children, however she requires reading glasses!! (I have recently acquired my first pair!)

· Water Purification tablets & purification bottles

· Baby Milk Powder (for Mom’s with HIV to feed their babies) & Baby Bottles to feed them with

· Nutritional Food Supplements (i.e atmit)

· Tuna fish in oil

· New born kits

· School kits

· Hygiene kits

· Notebooks to write in

· Pens

· Clothing(babies, children/adolescence etc.)

· Primary children’s Church clothing, smaller white shirts, pants, dresses, children’s underwear etc.

· Missionary clothing for Elders - white shirts, ties, suits, shoes, backpacks, belts, sweaters, overcoats (including smaller sizes)

· Missionary Clothing for Sister Missionaries

· Antiseptic soap / Bath soap

· First Aid kits (however NO medicines) Bandages/Band-aids/splints etc.

· Seeds

· Laundry soap

· Towels

· Blankets, Sheets (linen)

· Underwear

· Sweaters

· Socks

· Shoes

· Hats

· Toys/balls

· For the Stake Young Women’s Camps (500+ Girls) - Sleeping bags, Journals, Pens, Towels, Hygiene kits, clothing

"Last year we spent MANY hours sorting through the clothing into sizes so that it might be easily distributed once it arrived as we do not have a warehouse in Zimbabwe which to unpack the goods into. Therefore, as cheeky as this might sound, we would be SO, SO GRATEFUL if the donated clothing could be packed and labelled according to sizes" i.e.

· BABY

· CHILD – Girl

· CHILD - Boy

· TEENAGER - Girl

· TEENAGER - Boy

· ADULT –Female

· ADULT - Male

WE DID IT!

2010-09-08T15:47:00.006-06:00

We met our goal of making 100 pairs of baby leggings!! WAHOOO! (We actually made 130 pairs...that's 260 socks people!!)

THANK YOU SOOOO MUCH to everyone who contributed in ANY way!!

We had a great sewing/cutting/tying crew that showed up today...and I couldn't be more greatful for the help! You ladies are AWESOME!

Here are some pics from the day! (Sorry to those who left before we got our group shot!!)

If any of you are still wanting to help or need to get me your finished leggings, PLEASE try to get them to me by the end of this month! I want to try and have them sent off to the Webster family by the 1st of October!

Again, THANK YOU so very much for all of you love and support! It means so much to me that all of you would help me out with this project!!! <3

Leggings Update!

2010-08-23T15:07:00.004-06:00

First of all THANK YOU to everyone who has volunteered to help make leggings, donated money, or bought socks! You are all WONDERFUL!

I am confident that we will meet and exceed our 100 legging goal!!

*If you have talked to me about giving money but have not been able to meet up with me, please call, text, or e-mail me ASAP so we can arrange something!*

We are still in need people to come help sew the leggings on the 8th of September...so let me know if you can help!!

I have made a couple pair of leggings to practice...it is so FUN and EASY!!!

Aren't they adorable?!

I can't wait to see all of our finished products!!

Baby Leggings

2010-07-27T12:32:00.006-06:00

Here’s a little more info about the information about the service project I’m doing!

A few months ago I was introduced to the story of the Webster family. Their daughter Makenzie was a healthy baby but fell ill with SMARD, a rare disease. She was almost 5 months when she died. You can read more of her story here:

To commemorate Makenzie's life, her mother Kendra is doing many things. One of them will be to take leggings to Primary Children's on the anniversary of her daughter's death (December 13). Makenzie wore these cute little leggings her mom made her while she was in the hospital.
They kept her warm and looked so cute!

So, why am I telling you all of this?? Here's why:

*To help, I have set a goal to make 100 legging pairs! (About $200 worth)

If you want to help, here’s what you can do:

*Donate money to buy socks to make the leggings. (A $10 donation can make around 5 pair of leggings!)

*Volunteer your time on September 8^th by coming and helping sew the leggings. (E-mail me for more details)

*Buy knee high socks (women’s or girl’s sizes) and give them to me to sew.

*Buy socks and sew leggings on your own and give them to me to deliver. (I will send you the pattern)

*Buy leggings and give them to me to deliver (this costs more money but is less time consuming).

Please let me know ASAP if you are interested in helping me with this service project!

I am very excited about it and am sure it will be a success!

I know I can do it with your help!!!

If you want to help or have any questions, here is how you can contact me:

Call/text: (208) 201-2742

E-mail: mbbitter@gmail.com

Uploaded some cell phone pics...

2010-07-27T12:08:00.007-06:00

I decided to clean off some pics on my cell phone...they're all pretty old and pretty random, but I thought I would share anyway :)

In no particular order, here they are:

Me...my hair looks so dark!!

"Halloween" at the Painted Turtle

My sweet little nieces & Seth :)

New climbing shoes!!!!!!!!!! (Which I may be using TONIGHT!)

Matt & Marsh's first check for 2M! I was proud :)

The CUTEST tiger I have ever seen!

Not sure why I have this, but here's Mitch with a dog...what else is new!? :)

Projects

2010-07-21T20:04:00.003-06:00

Because it's the last week of the semester my mind is wondering and FAR GONE from anything school related. And it doesn't help that I've been in school for over a year-and-a-half. (Just sayin....)

SO... consequently I have been day-dreaming over all of the many projects I am going to attempt to do/start over my break. FYI and for me as well, I'm making a list:

Make 100 pairs of baby-leggings for this awesome family. (Let me know if you wanna help!)
Start a quiet book for my future little ones. [Thanks for your crafty blog Sam, I get ideas from it (: ]
Finish sewing a couple of bags I have been neglecting.
ORGANIZE MY RECIPES! (Any ideas for this one?)
Recruit my BFF to come help me organize my kitchen cabinets/closet. (Yes Liz, that means YOU!)
Have a sewing day with my sissy's and mamma to make some pillow dresses for all the little princess's in my life. (And possibly to re-stock the baby-shower gift storage.)
Organize "my room". It's bad people...real bad. I'm talkin' sewing, scrapping, schooling, crafting, decorating CRAP EVERYWHERE!!!!! (Excuse my language.)
AND....I really want to make one (or two...or three...) of these and maybe a few of these (I might make a bunch of the tutu's for this charity...later this fall though). So cute! I can always use them for gifts for all my babies (AKA my nieces & nephews)!

I'm sure my list will grow and only a fraction will get done, but a girl can dream right?

Anywhoo...I'm off to attempt to study for a final or two...wish me luck.

P.S. Two posts 7 days apart...come on now, that deserves some props! ;-)

Shocked?

2010-07-14T17:10:00.006-06:00

Hello world...Yes, I'm blogging. Shocked? Me too.

I started feeling guilty that I still check everyone else's blog...but I never blog . So, here's a bit of an update on our happenings...

I'm almost done with the semester...YAY! But, I will NOT be posting my grades this time...I've been...ummmm...well....a bit of a slacker! :)
I registered for my last semester of course work before I students teach...WAHOOOO!
Matt got nationally trained as a rock climbing/rappelling instructor through BSA and coordinated the Cedar Badge rappelling in June.
Matt is gearing up for grain season... :-/
I have had 2 more miscarriages (march & june) which brings the grand total of little ones we may get to raise someday to 5.
We found out why I am miscarrying (we think)...most likely my thyroid (hypothyroidism) and just a crappy malfunctioning immune system.
We have gone fishing a few times this summer...I love just being outside and NOT doing homework!
We have hung out with family pretty much all summer [Nephews being ordained to the priesthood and baptized, playing cards, riding the 3 wheeler (may she rest in peace...long/funny story), playing at the dunes, shooting squirrels (and any other creature that moves), watching fireworks...etc...etc...]

Kacy, Yandie, Me, Krys....YES, the wind was blowing.

After a long, cold day of riding on the dunes...so fun!

Yandie & Me cruising around the farm...Doesn't her beauty put any ounce of mine to shame?!

Spring on the Henry's Fork

Here fishie fishie...

Daren, Me, Matt in St. George (February...I know...forever ago!) Me and Matt riding on the rocks!

We are going on our 3rd year of marriage...and we couldn't be more in love :)

We have been working at the Rexburg Temple as ordinance workers for almost 1 year...and it has been the biggest, best blessing in our lives!

Matt is busy as the Elder's Quorum Pres. in our ward...it's so neat to see him serve and fulfill his priesthood duties!

I'm the 2nd counselor in the R.S. Pres. and love the girls I work with and love getting to be trained and learn so much from our stake R.S. Presidency! It's definitely a learning/growing experience for me!

Anywhoo.... I hope everyone is doing awesome!

Christmas!

2010-01-04T20:10:00.006-07:00

Can you BELIEVE that Christmas is OVER???!!!! I can't. In fact, my decorations just don't seem to want to come down. I think that i'll pretend it's Christmas until at least February. :)

Anyway....

We started our Christmas celebrations on Christmas Eve at my parents house. This lovely little picture below is of my handsome husband helping out in the kitchen. Yes, he is wearing my mom's apron. What a man! :)

We had fun helping my parents get ready for company and cooking some yummy food! My dad showed Matt his famous clam chowder making skills and I got to do the grunt work (such as grating and chopping miscellaneous things...)

All of my siblings came except for Joe. We took pics of each family and of all the grandkids! (Minus Dannette) Looking at this pic I can't believe how big they are all getting! Especially Austin and Justin! They are turning in to handsome young men! Who would have thought!? I feel old... Here are my parents and some of the coolest kids around:

After we ate, sang, played, and opened presents we sent everyone home and made our way to Matt's parents house. We stayed the night there and helped Santa do his thing at the Bitter house.

The next morning we opened presents with the whole fam. It's always so fun Christmas morning at the Bitter house! And I can always count on getting a sugar coma after making my way through my stocking!

Matt got a bunch of reloading stuff and a few calls (technical boy/hunter terms...don't worry nothing exciting). I got an awesome jewelry box thing, some clothes, books, and...dum da da dum....AN IPOD TOUCH! I had no idea Matt was going to buy me one! I sort of lost my iPod that he bought me last Christmas (anyone seen a Pink Nano anywhere?). So, after that I didn't think he'd get me another one...but HE DID! And, IT ROCKS....seriously, everyone should have one.

Another highlight was the gift exchange we did this year with the Bitter's. I had our niece Brynlee's name this time. I made her a dress up chest and bought some clothes for it. When she opened it she proceeded to put on every outfit in it! It was so stinkin' cute! It made my painting effort worth it! So here she is...the cowgirl/cheerleader/fairy!

The rest of the holidays we pretty much crashed at the Bitter's and bummed around eating food, playing the Wii, playing other games (hearts, sequence)..... It was wonderful!

Matt had fun hanging out with Mitch and practicing with the new calls. They spent some time calling coyotes too. It's amazing how Matt will wake up at 5 in the morning to fish or hunt but yet when it's time for work or errands with me it takes a blow-horn to get him up!!!

Now it's back to reality this week. We spent today helping Ayanda (our new friend from Zimbabwe) getting registered and what not for classes. Tomorrow will be the same and I'll have to take care of odds and ends for this semester. Then on Wednesday I start another semester of 20 credits! At least this time I won't be working on top of it!

I am so excited for 2010 and I'm sure it's going to be a fabulous year! 2009 was great and so much happened in such a short time! I can't help but be excited for what lies ahead!

I hope everyone had a great Christmas and is enjoying the new year!

Halloween to Now! (Picture CRAZY!)

2009-12-11T13:24:00.011-07:00

Sorry for my slacking...I'm really not THAT busy anymore. Just lazy I guess! Funny that as busy as I am with finals- today is the day I pick to blog! Ha...it's the procrastinator in me coming through! Anyway...

In October we carved pumpkins with our neighbors Mark and Ashley. They're awesome :)

Mark gets pretty crafty when he carves and prints patterns off the internet. So, we thought we'd be crafty too...this is what we came up with....

John Deere logo and G Loomis fish...Beautiful eh? I thought they fit us well! Too bad we never put candles in them :-(
I got an itch and made two batches of sugar cookies. Well, actually the first batch I made because I had a bunch of frosting left over from making sugar cookies with my after school group- and the second batch was because I wanted to try my mom's frosting recipe! They were delicious....and i'm pretty sure that's where these 5 extra pounds i'm packing around came from!

Matt ran up to the dam a few times this fall. Here is his best catch...
So, Matt's fam all went to Africa (Back to Marshall's mission in Zimbabwe). They left a few days before Thanksgiving. They couldn't take all of the things that Krystal got for her service project, so we gathered more and took a bunch down to SLC and help load it on the crates that were being shipped to Zimbabwe.

Here is the start of the book/pen collection Matt and I headed up...
Here is the result of our pen/book collection + more school kits we finished for Krys...
I think total we ended up with about 2500 pens and around 300 books!

We left for SLC on Thanksgiving (afternoon). On Friday morning we met Reeve Nield and her friends Cici and Lolly (all from Africa except Cici is from the netherlands I think...) at the loading dock to drop off our stuff and help them load what we could. They put us to work when we got there! The warehouse was huge and there was a TON of supplies they were packing the crates with. They had so much stuff that Reeve and her friends paid for another crate to be filled and shipped! Here is Matt (on top in the red) and a few players from the BYU baseball team loading a crate.
We packed everything from pens to clothes to medical supplies! Deseret book (Sheri Dew) donated a bunch of books for adults, a pharmacy gave them all of their barely expired medications, and the BYU baseball team gave them brand new cleats to take over and use for bargaining with the rich kids in order to get them to bring 10 or so pairs of clothes in exchange for the new cleats. Here is a picture of two of the crates. They are really HUGE when you are inside them filling them up!
It was so much fun to be able to help and meet awesome people who are so kind and giving (like Reeve, Cici and Lolly)! I'm so glad Krys let us help her out and be a part of such a cool project!

This year we did our little tradition of going to get a tree, feeding the fish, and eating at Big Jud's. This year our neighbors Mark and Ashley came with us (along with Ashley's parents). It was a blast to hang out with them! First we fed the fish...it was so cold, but we had a good time working our way through a loaf of bread! (Feeding it to the fish I mean...)

Matt was picky about the tree we got. He made me hike around for a whole 10 minutes :). I wanted one of the ones right by the pickup....but NOOOOOOooooOOOOOoo! It's okay though...it was worth the short hike and my whole body going numb from the cold.
We were a little late putting up decorations (i'm a day after Thanksgiving person...but it didn't happen this year!) But better late than never! The garland around the banister is my fav. That's pretty much why we bought this house :-). (So I could put garland on the banister.)
My wreath I threw together. I've always wanted to make one, or just have one, but I didn't fee like being super creative (finals kind of make me that way!) so I just threw this little pretty together! I didn't get a good pic of our tree, but it's cute...just in case you wondered. I also wrapped our cabinets. Yes, you read that right. Our neighbors wrap their pictures and it is so cute! So, I wrapped a few cabinet doors and threw bows on them...so fun!
Matt and Mitch hae been doing quite a bit of goose hunting. Matt even found a goose jerkey recipe that they like so he has been stinking up our garage while he makes it from all the birds he shoots. (Bird feathers and blood and meat all over my garage, counters, house...I'm a nice wife right? He really is clean about it all...just kinda gross.)
I went with them once. It was pretty cold. And no birds came in. I had fun though. The decoy's kept me entertained...as you can see...
Well, I hope this was somewhat exciting to read/look at. I need to be better about taking good pictures. I need a personal photographer to come with me everywhere I go...that'd be nice.

I hope everyone is surviving finals/last minute Christmas shopping/wrapping/decorating!

Books for Kids in Africa!!!

2009-11-16T19:04:00.002-07:00

I need your children's books! Any and all will be very much appreciated!

Here's why:

Dear Friends,

I am writing to inform you of a wonderful service project that my sister-in-law, Krystal, has put together for the children of Zimbabwe, Africa. I am also writing to ask you for your help in making her project a success.

From 2006-2008 my brother-in-law, Marshall, served in the Zimbabwe mission. This Thanksgiving him and some of our family will travel to Zimbabwe and visit those who he taught. The planning of this trip inspired Krystal to do something to help the children in Africa that are in need of various things.

While on his mission Marshall met a professional golfer named Reeve Nield who is from Africa and is very proactive in giving various aide to the people of her nation. Krystal was able to contact Reeve and found out that on Thanksgiving day they will be filling a crate with various things to ship to Zimbabwe. This crate is being shipped by one of Reeves sponsors (a $30,000+ shipping fee) and is being housed in an LDS humanitarian warehouse in Salt Lake City, Utah. Krystal decided to raise money and put together various aids to take to the crate that will be shipped to Africa.

So far Krystal has raised $1,000 and has used that money to put together 100+ school bags full of supplies and entertainment for the children in Zimbabwe. Most of the bags she put together will be put in the crate, but some will be handed out directly to the children when they take their trip.

In talking with Reeve, Krystal also found out that many of the children do not have the privilege of owning books. When I heard this, I volunteered to help her gather books for her to take to the crate and to deliver to the kids.

If you can help Krystal and me by giving any books (new or lightly used), it would be very much appreciated! My husband and I will be making a trip down to Salt Lake City on Thanksgiving day to deliver the school bags and children’s books to the crate. I would like to have all of the books collected by this Sunday.

Please tell everyone you know! Even one book will help!
I will be happy to pick up the books that you are willing to donate.
Let me know if you can help!
Thank you!

Breezie Bitter
Cell: 208-201-2742
E-mail: mbbitter@gmail.com

Appointments

2009-09-09T21:46:00.005-06:00

To book an appointment with me (see post below) you can:

call/text me @ 208-201-2742

send me an e-mail- mbbitter@gmail.com

or message me on facebook

I will be working T, TH, & Some Fri. afternoons/nights this month.

Also, I will be taking clients all day Sat. the 19th.

Make sense? Good.

And in case you are wondering- you are welcome to bring your little ones- as long as they can either sleep through the treatment or occupy themselves without mommy's full attention!

Talk to you soon....

<3me

P.S. Remember, tell your friends ;-)

Thanks a bunch...

2009-09-04T16:16:00.004-06:00

for the yummy choco-chip cookies.

(Whoever the sweet soul was who brought them over last Sunday.)

They were as delicious as they looked.
and they made my day.

A Tribute to My BFF!

2009-08-29T09:47:00.008-06:00

Oh where to begin.....well first today is my bestest best friend in the whole wide world (besides my hubby, of course)...BIRTHDAY! Yay! I have known Liz for 10 years (yikes that makes me feel old) and it has been a blast having her as my friend! I was going through all of the pics I have of us and there are some pretty good ones (I spared you the embarassing braces and awkward teenager pics....lol) but I thought i'd post a few favorites just for memories sake...

I think this one was in 7th of 8th grade up at kelly canyon getting ready to snowboard-something we did all the time together!

This was in 9th or 10th grade (man I gotta remember and write the dates down!)

This was Jr. or Sr. Year

And this was Jr. or Sr. year too..

This was at the Taylor Swift concert Liz's first semester of college when we were living at Tuscany together.

This is this summer at our 4th of July promo for the place we work together!

Thanks Liz for always being there for me through ups and downs and just being my friend no matter what! I'm so happy for everything that you have accomplished in your life and am excited to see what the next 10 years of friendship brings! I love you!!!!!! :-)

CCFA Camp Oasis 2009

2009-08-27T21:49:00.008-06:00

Yes folks, It's me. I'm blogging. Please, please...don't die of shock on me. I have been a huge procrastinator...but here's my post for the month of August:

So, as I said I went to an amazing camp for kids with crohn's disease. It was so neat! I loved being around other people who are going through what I am. The camp was so cool and so inspirational. I can't post pictures or any info about the kids I worked with or the camp for safety reasons, but i'll post what I can! So basically the camp is for kids with different illnesses and they host a different camp each week throughout the summer. I of course wanted to go to the CCFA camp. I was placed with the 11-13 year old girls along with 7 other couselors. We took the girls to different activities through the week and watched them enjoy themselves! Some highlights for me included:

-dancing for 30 min. after every meal (yet I still gained 10lbs. while I was there!!!)

-having a food fight for "silly-o" and having the fireman hose us down (sooo coool!!!)

-watching the kids be themselves and realize that camp is awesome.

-going all the way to cali to meet someone who grew up 15 min from me

-having three co-counselors with accents (i was thinking in british and was afraid I was talking that way for about a week after camp!!!!!)

-meeting a ton of people who can relate to me and not having to explain what crohn's is to them.

Heres a few pics...

Me and some of the crazy ladies I worked with....sweet hats eh?

Making DUCT TAPE flowers!!! Arts and crafts was my fav! (how is duct tape spelled? duck....duct....goose..ha)
Archery.
Canoeing on the "lake"....I think it was a lake. It was fun though...they had fishing too.
They had activity where the girls had to work together to solve problems. Pretty cool. It reminded me of team building things we used to do at girls camp.
Making bags in arts and crafts. The girls got pretty creative. One of them drew sponge bob...heck yes!
NO HANDS spaghetti night. I'm pretty sure spaghetti tastes better with no hands!
Horses! Yes, people in California ride horses. I seriously had no idea! haha...

This here is a sweet piniata (how the crap do you spell that??!!!) that one of my girls made in arts and crafts. I believe is is a mix between a cow and an otter....a "cowtter". Pretty nifty.

Here is the crew of ladies I was privileged to work with in my cabin: Aine, Kim, Aimee, Tonya (who happens to be an IF native...imagine that!), (me), Sarah, Lauren, and Ruth....thanks for the great week ladies! It was a blast! :)
And for those of you who are wondering- I found out I was pregnant at camp. I was 5 1/2 weeks and sooooo nervous i'd miscarry while I was at camp. Luckily I didn't. But the day after I got home I did. So, 6 weeks seems to be the unlucky week around here. I'm planning on going to see the doc about all this....so hopefully good things come from that! Thanks for your thoughts and prayers- Especially you ladies in my ward. You have been great! I'm lucky to have such awesome sisters in my ward!

Anyway.....I hope everyone is enjoying the last week of August!

ESTHETIC JOB OPENING!

2009-08-20T16:13:00.003-06:00

I know this isn't the post everyone was hoping for- but I need to find someone to hire ASAP- so i'm just doing a quick post. If you know any estheticians looking for part time work send the message along.
I've had a crazy month so far....I was gone for a week to an AMAZING camp for kids with crohn's and then came back and had a misscarriage for a week (I know, I know...). Fun stuff... -but i'll write more about all that later. For now, here's my job posting. :) Thanks ;-)

Company Name: Cosi Bella Medical Aesthetics
Contact Name: Breezie Bitter
eMail: mbbitter@gmail.com
Business Phone: (208) 201-2742
Address: 3360 Washington Pkwy. #1Idaho Falls, ID 83404
Site: cosibellamed.com

Job Info:
Req. Experience: None
Req. Education: Idaho Licensed Esthetician
Salary: 15.00/hr (DOE)
Benefits: Free/Discounted Treatments

We are looking for a Esthetician licensed in Idaho or who is currently trying to acquire their Idaho License. We need someone ASAP and as soon as we find the right person we will begin training right away. Currently the position is part-time, but has the possibility of becoming full-time. You will be required to use lasers, chemical peels, and other medical aesthetic procedures to work on clients. Assisting the doctor in aesthetic injections is also required. Knowledge of PCA Skin care line is helpful.

End of semester, 2 Years, Kids, and Bags!

2009-07-28T20:59:00.004-06:00

So, this might be a long post with many pictures. But that's okay i'm sure :). First of all let me just say that I am SOOOOOOOOOOOO glad that school is out for 7 WHOLE WEEKS! Wa..hoo. For those of you wondering about my grades- all the grades I posted stayed the same but I added a block class that I got a B in. So much for a 4.0! But i'm definitely not concerned with that anymore!

Here's some highlights from the past couple of weeks:

The kids (AKA my brother's 7 kids) all came over (except for baby Anna) and had a sleep over. It was so much fun! Matt had his Dad's Austin Heley (can't spell) on a trailer so they all hoped in and thought it was pretty nifty. Me and the little ones went to the park for a bit that was fun. We ended up going over to Matt's Grandmas and helping her in her yard- so the kids got to play with Katelyn and Krystal- they had a blast in Grandma's huge yard!

One thing the little ones always do when they are over is go into "Matt's room". He shows him all of the flies he ties and other cool things he has. This time he had his fox fur hats (yes, he shot them) and so the little ones were wearing them around. They thought they were cool stuff!

Gabe and Seth sporting the fox hats.

Mia- she wasn't to sure about it at first but then she didn't want to take it off!
Mia LOVES Matt! She won't even give me the time of day! It's always Matt this and Matt that....its' pretty stinkin cute! :)

So- Matt and I have been married 2 years as of Sunday.....PHEW! I can't believe that! It has gone by so fast! In that short time this is what has happened:

Matt graduated with his Bachelor's in Ag Business from BYU-I, we went to Hawaii for a second honeymoon, we got 2 new neices and 1 new nephew (I count Kael as my nephew:)..), I was a primary teacher, we got sealed in the Rexburg Temple, I started school again....TWICE, I got a killer job as an esthetician, Matt started his own business, I started selling bags, we bought our first house, we fished a lot, played a lot, and worked pretty dang hard to get where we are.

Thanks the BEST two years of my life Matt! Your the BEST! :)

For our anniversary we floated warm river to Ashton and fished. It was fun! Then we camped out up in Island park...just for the heck of it!

I have never rode a motorbike before- so Matt taught me...okay really I taught me...but it was fun! I only ran into a tree and the pickup....and only tipped it on myself once. I think I did awesome! :P

So the kids are gearing up for school again and we went over to my moms to see their new school clothes they got. Seth just turned 5 last week and will be starting kindergarten. He is the one who we took out to the farm and is in love with tractors now. Well, they found this shirt for him...
If you can't read it it says "will trade sister for tractor". I think it's so stinkin cute!

On a side note...I just finished making two bags for some girls I know (sorry it took me sooo long guys!!!) Here is a pic of one:
Check out Bitterbags.blogspot.com in the next week or so and i'll have more posted!

(Don't mind the construction on it....I'm trying to redo a few things. Hopefully i'll get it done in the next couple days!)

HAVE A GREAT DAY!!!!

Ever fish for squirrels? I have!

2009-07-16T16:38:00.005-06:00

So I know it's been nearly a month since i've posted...I know, I know it's horrible. But here is my little catch-up (I always think of ketchup when I type that....funny).
The weekend of the fourth we went up to reunion flatts (by the tetons) for the Klingler fam reunion. We only stayed one night- but it was pretty fun. Here's the highlights:

We went on a hike up a canyon- can't remember where (cuz i'm cool like that). Notice how excited Matt is about it...(well about me taking a picture anyway...boys!) and ignore the lack of make-up please. :)

Matt & Katelyn (his lil sis)- two of my favorite people!!! :)
After the hike we were hanging out at the camp site and Matt's cousin Rob decides he is going to catch a squirril on his fishing pole. So, we gathered our camp chairs (well only 4 of us) and watched. And sure enough, he caught the little bugger- I wont go into detail, but here is some footage:

yah, it was funny. He let it go though...so don't worry :)

On the fourth I hung out at my booth for work. Liz (my bff) works with me now too so she hung out for a while too. We made lots of contacts and it was a great day! Afterwards we watched the fireworks with the Klingler fam. It was amazing! My ears were ringing!

Come See Me!

2009-06-24T19:22:00.002-06:00

On the 4th I'm going to be working a booth on the green belt for the doctor I work for.

So you should come see me!!!!!

We are called Cosi Bella Medical Aesthetics.

We do

Laser Hair Removal

Laser Leg Vein reduction

Botox

Fillers

Acne treatments

Cellulite treatments

Chemical Peels

Facials

AND TONS MORE!

We are giving away a ton of awesome stuff!

Punch cards with great deals, FREE TREATMENTS, and sweet coupons.

We are also offering FREE skin care and body image consultations that day!!!!

I'll be behind the sign that looks like this:

Hope I see ya there!!! :)

LDS E-zine

2009-06-22T19:46:00.004-06:00

A while ago I subscribed to LDS Living's online magazine e-mail (or something to that effect...) and I have really enjoyed it.
I thought i'd share it with everyone! (Best part is that it's FREE)
Here is what you get (as stated on the site):

Monday "Family Night"
This popular article offers a new FHE idea for each Monday. Our Family Night email gives you a lesson topic, related hymn, full lesson, fun activity and scripture references to go with the lesson. This is a fantastic tool for LDS Lifestyles. You will surely enjoy this article!

Tuesday "Living Well"
Tuesday's email begins with an uplifting or thought-provoking thought. We also include an inspirational article as well as a Health Tip and Dating Tip. You'll love Tuesdays!

Wednesday "LDS Events & News"
This is our most popular LDS email. Once a week we update you on upcoming LDS Events and Top News headlines.

Thursday "Family Products"
This is a weekly focus on a product that our subscribers are recommending or amazing sale items that we have found for you.

Friday "Everything Sunday"
Friday's email includes a great idea for Young Men / Young Women. There is also helps for preparing for the Gospel Doctrine lesson that week, a Church History article, "Remembering Joseph", and great ideas for LDS Lifestyles... ideas for Primary, Relief Society, Nursery, Elders Quorum Parties, YM/YW, etc. If you have any great ideas of things you've done in your ward, email us!

Weekend "Family Weekend"
Saturday's email gives you and your family ideas of things to do over the weekend. From packing a tasty picnic to family crafts or kids crafts and creating a new family budget... this email will give your family some great ideas!!

To subscribe you go to ldsliving.com and hover over the "magazine" icon and a drop down menu will appear and you will click on "e-mail magazine". After that it will show you all the info I posted and as you for your e-mail addy.

Simple as that!

BTW...isn't this weather awesome today!?!!?! (Besides the chilliness)

Hope everyone is enjoying it!

Bragging

2009-06-19T11:27:00.002-06:00

I have been dreading looking at my midterm grades...I have worked my tail off the first part of this semester and was afraid that it hadn't paid off. I decided to take 20 credits (yes, I am crazy). I want to get done with school ASAP, so that's why the huge load of classes...anyway...I finally looked at my grades and this is what I found...

BRIANNA LYNN BITTER

1st Summer Term 2009

Department	Course	Course Title	Mid-Term	Credit	Points
ED	206	TECH TEACH PRO	A	.0	.0
FDSCI	101	SCIENCE FOUND	A-	.0	.0
FDINT	202	DEVELOP WORLD	A	.0	.0
FDCOM	201	PROF COM FND 2	A	.0	.0
ENG	355	CHILDREN'S LIT	A	.0	.0
FDREL	122	BOOK OF MORMON	A	.0	.0
ED	200	HIST/PHIL ED	A	.0	.0
CHILD	210	CHILD DEVELOP	A	.0	.0

I was shocked! I thought i'd at least have a few B's. I have NEVER EVER had a college report card look like this! I guess the more credits I take the more focussed I am. So, I thought i'd make my mommy proud and brag a little :)! But anyway...if you haven't seen me or heard from me as often as usual- this is probably why!

xoxo

You made my day :)

2009-06-15T17:35:00.003-06:00

To Geri, Lauren, Marty, Alex, and Amber-

THANK YOU!

You all made tears come to my eyes with your comments.

Thank you for being so thoughtful.

I know that some of you have had even harder trials than mine,

ones that I don't think I could face-

this makes your kind words

mean the world to me!

It's nice to be able to relate to others and not feel so alone.

I am lucky to know so many wonderful women!

You guys are inspiration to me...thanks for making my day :)

Nothing is lost to the Lord...

2009-06-13T10:23:00.003-06:00

As some of you know this month was my due date for our first pregnancy. I can’t help but think about our sweet little baby that would have been born at the end of this month. As any woman who has had a miscarriage knows…it’s impossible to forget. I have had two miscarriages now and I often think of how big my belly would be and what we would be doing preparing for baby. In the last nine months I have done a lot of reflecting and searching. I can’t seem to dismiss my two little ones who lived only 6 weeks inside me. A feeling keeps tugging at me that I will see them again. The words of Joseph F. Smith, John R. Winder, and Anthon H. Lund state, “The body of man enters upon its career as a tiny germ or embryo, which becomes and infant, quickened at a certain stage by the spirit whose tabernacle it is…” Modern technology reveals a heartbeat of our tiny embryos weeks after conception. Some may disagree, but if you do please don’t say so- I like to think that my little ones are baby angels waiting for me on the other side. The Lord tells us that, “Nothing is ever lost.” This to me indicates just that, nothing will ever be lost to the Lord. I will always remember and feel a connection with each baby I know was inside me. They are our children. Although we did not know them, Heavenly Father gave us the power to create them and the technology to know that they were there and that they were ours. I know that the Lord knows my grief over my loss of my tiny angels, and He will remember them always. I don’t know what the future holds for Matt and I- we’re hoping it is filled with many babies to bring many smiles into our home. Until that time we’ll continue on- knowing that our Savior is mindful of our trails and us. I will continue being the mother I am (and that every other influential woman is) by loving and mothering all the sweet children I am around each day, by being loving and compassionate for those around me, and by fulfilling my purpose on this earth. Every daughter of God who strives to fulfill her purpose is a Mother in my eyes and I believe is a Mother in the Lord’s eyes as well. Some of the greatest mother's I know never had any children. They were mother's in every way, shape, and form except biologically. As future Mother’s days come and the thoughts of my baby angels linger, I will celebrate knowing that I AM a Mother because I am doing all I can to be a daughter of God. I am thankful for the gospel in our lives. It truly brings peace to my soul. I may not know what God's plan is exactly, and I may not know what is and what isn't in His eyes, but I do know for certain that He has a plan for me and my family and that plan is a plan that will bring happiness.

Oh the adventures...!

2009-06-12T06:40:00.008-06:00

I was looking through our pics and forgot about a few. They tell the story of a typical day when we go out to Bitter's and why we like going so much! :) (Yes, I did say typical...i'm not kidding either.) This may make for a long post of pics, but they are all worth posting for memories sake...and for some laughs.

Ride around the farm in the prowler, four wheeler, motorbike, three wheeler, bicycle....whatever you can find.

Hang out with Brynlee and watch all the funny things she says and does. (She is probably the funniest little girl I have ever seen in my life! We love her to death!!!!)

The adventures of the three wheeler...well the story started when Mitch decided to fix up this old three wheeler that came with the farm when they bought it. Keep in mind that this three wheeler has a duck tapped seat and one of the back wheels is significantly larger than the other. (Think redneck...) Now the cool thing at the Bitters is to ride the three wheeler (actually watch the boys act like 10 year olds on the three wheeler). Here's how things usually happen...
The boys all hop on (sometimes 2 sometimes all three...yah, not kidding) and then they attempt to do "tricks"...

Which usually results like this....

Notice Mitch completely under the three wheeler in the next one...

And after the many crashes the handle bars usually need a good twisting...

After all of our outside adventures we usually and up in the house just doing whatever. Most of the time it end up in something like this...Matt and Mitch wrestling for a plastic gun that shoots plastic balls (cant think of the name at the moment). These two are hilarious to watch together. Notice Kathy's hand coming into the picture...mom's always telling her boys not to fight. So cute :) Matt, Mitch, and Marsh are constantly teasing and doing their best to show their "brotherly love" to one another.

So as you can tell there is NEVER a dull moment at the Bitters' house- and if there is you can be sure that someone will do something to spice it up pretty quick! We love you guys...thanks for being an awesome family and for making our guts hurt every time we visit! :)

I had to throw this one in...Seth came upstairs and asked if he could have something to eat. I told him to go lay on the couch like Mia and when she woke up from her nap I'd give them both a snack. This is how things ended up....

So cute :)
Families are great aren't they?!

Cheap craft idea!

2009-06-05T13:14:00.003-06:00

I saw some cute decorated frames in Porter's the other day and decided I wanted to make my own. I have been looking for frames to put portraits of my 2 grandmothers in so I can put them in my kitchen. Anyway...I made one this morning and am working on the other. Here it is:

I am going to my mom's tonight to get pictures for both frames. The brown and cream thing in the center was a bracelet my grandma Surerus got on one of her many trips she took before she passed away. The quote beneath it says "The measure of a woman's character is not what she gets from her ancestors, but what she leaves her decedents."

It was supper easy and fun to make! It too me maybe 30 minutes to do. It's a great craft for extra material, buttons, ribbon etc. The frame was only 3 dollars and the material I had already! Anyway...just thought i'd share! :)

Memorial Day

2009-06-05T12:31:00.003-06:00

Better lat than never...right? On Memorial Day we broke out Matt's dad's drift boat and headed up to Ora bridge. Matt woke me up at 5:30 (good thing I didn't look at the clock until we were fishing or I would have been angry...).

Matt fished (I did a little). I moslty ate PB & J's and read books for school.(Notice how my PBJ is going to eat Matt...I thought it was funny. Remember, I was EXTREMELY tired...there were some pretty random pictures just like this one on our camera...haha) It was a beautiful morning and we had a lot of fun! (Besides the the fact that when we got there we realized we forgot the REELS....and we had to make the 1/2 hour drive BACK TO REXBURG to get them. But we were still floating by 8 or so.)

Matt caught one little guy the whole time....It was cool to see how he gobbled up Matt's pretty salmon fly that he tied all by himself!

After our float we headed up to Grandma and Grandpa Bitter's ranch. I had never been there before and I love it! Everyone (Bitter fam) was fixing fence up there. We hung out for a bit and did a little exploring (forgot the camera). It is basically like their own little piece of Island Park. There is a spring and a creek on it and lot of trees and fun places to explore. It was great! After that we went for a float again. So, it was a pretty relaxing day. We got to be outside all day which is our favorite place to be!

Video for Ed206

2009-06-02T11:11:00.001-06:00

Here is the video I ATTEMPTED to make for my edtech class...it was teaching 3rd graders outdoor safety...enjoy!

We're moving to Vernon Bridge

2009-05-22T13:40:00.005-06:00

Okay, so we're not really moving anywhere...BUT if I had my choice i'd move to Chester and live by the Vernon bridge.

You laugh...but i'm serious. This little spot is our fav new little get away. Here's why:
We can ride our bikes (no auto traffic so it's extremely PEACEFUL)...and although you can't see it in the pic below, the TETONS are right there behind us...breathtaking!

Matt can fish (It's actually a pretty decent stretch of the river too)...

I can READ in peace...

and I can SNOOZE in the SUN...

The BEST part of all is that its only 15 MIN away! (if that) Which means we have plenty of time to make it home and BBQ! :-)

LOVE IT!

My Best Friend...

2009-05-20T21:46:00.006-06:00

Yes, I married my best friend. He may do odd things (like eat nutella on lays potato chips) and act like a typical man from time to time...

But when I really need him most he ALWAYS steps up to the plate. This week was unbelievably challenging for me as far as school goes. Have you ever heard of 2 BIG research papers due at the beginning of the semester on the same day? Well, I have. To top it off I had a test and all of my regular work due. Needless to say, I have been so stressed. Matt made me these on monday AND tuesday..he knows me too well. (they are my most favorite thing in the world...) It was a fabulous surprise...yes, I cried (i'm a baby).

And here I am at the computer finishing up my homework (okay i'm blogging obviously, but i'm going to finish the homework after I post this!) and this is what my best friend is doing as we speak....

Laying on the floor right next to the desk I'm working at just to be with me. How sweet is he? I love you Matt...thanks for all of your love and support! Your the bestest!

"You have a farm?!"

2009-05-16T19:51:00.008-06:00

Seth and Mia (nephew & neice) have been hanging out at our house lately. One day Matt let them play with a toy combine he had. He told them that he had one just like it on his farm. Seth looked at him, puzzled, and said, "You have a farm?!" After that we knew we had to take them out to "Matt's farm" and let them ride a tractor and all that good stuff. They stayed with us this weekend and this is what we did...

Rode the tractor...

Drove the tractor...

Played in the "big yard"...

Got muddy and wet..

Layed out to dry...

Rode the sweet 3 wheeler...

Bags Bags Bags

2009-05-13T15:29:00.005-06:00

For those of you who liked my bag...go to bitterbags.blogspot.com
Take a look.
If you find the material you want (in the store) and buy it I will only charge for making it (not the price on the site) .
{cuz i'm sure we're friends}
:)

Ballet Bag

2009-05-11T17:34:00.005-06:00

Matt's little sis Katelyn has asked me to make her a bag since she knew I could make bags. One day she decided she needed a "ballet bag". I told her i'd make her one for her bday...so here it is, Katelyn's "ballet bag"!!! When she opened it she knew exactly what it was and said, "It's my ballet bag!" It made my day!

Apology...

2009-05-09T11:08:00.011-06:00

This is my apology post to everyone who reads my blog. I AM SORRY I'M BAD AT BLOGGING. I would make a promise that i'll do better...but I can't promise anything like that ;0>. I read everyone's exciting blogs and then I fail to update ours. My bad! For this particular update you can thank the ladies in my ward who reminded me that I have a blog this morning at our RS Board meeting....thanks guys :).
So.....Here's the update. I'm sure most of you know that we are officially moved into our townhouse in Rexburg (okay, MOSTLY moved...all except my whole sewing/scrapbook room is yet to be unpacked...and there might still be a few boxes laying around at out old house that have yet to be moved...sorry mom and dad!). I'm still in school and am taking 17 credits and thinking about taking a few more through independent study so I can get on fast track this fall. Matt is hard at work planting spuds right now (i'm a poor farm widow this time of year....tears....tears...), but at least I get my homework done when he's not here to entertain me :). Other than that our lives have been pretty uneventful. The only thing I can think of is that i' m now officially LEGAL. Yep, 21. I'm considering getting my concealed weapons permit. We'll see. I just don't like the government knowing that I own a gun. But hey, thats just the doomsday side of me. Anyway....I don't have many pics, but I'll post what I can come up with. Enjoy...

Me & Liz snowmobiling at the condo. (Thanks for coming with us guys...it was a blast!)

Matt & Up up in Ashton. We decided to go fishing for a bit one afternoon in April (or maybe it was March?). It was my first time wading across a river....SCARY. It was hard, but it was pretty fun too. Matt is a great teacher. BTY...we didn't catch anything, but at least it got us out of the house!

Shopping with all the Bitter girlies (and Brooke ;0>) down at conference. It was SO cold waiting for the trolley! BRRR. But it was worth it. Thanks for a fun time ladies.... :)

This, my friends, is my fav pic of them all! Here is the Bitter girlies (& Brooke ;0>) all dressed up in our sweet silly head gear to go out to dinner at spaghetti factory. We were picking the boys up after priesthood session, so they had no idea we were looking like this. They were a little confused when they saw us...it was good. We looked like this all night! We got some pretty goofy looks. It was priceless.

I have been doing some baby-sitting on and off for my sis-in-law and Matt usually isn't around to participate (ok, HELP). But this day he was here and I pretty much didn't do a thing. They LOVE uncle Matt. Probably because he let's them get away with a lot ;0>. Anyway....they climbed up on him and he read them a bunch of books and Anna just played in her jumper. It was pretty cute. He's going to be such a good daddy one of these days! :)

Busy Winter!

2009-02-05T10:28:00.016-07:00

For some crazy reason I always think that winter is going to be less busy than summer...WRONG! I guess the busyness of this winter really comes down to the fact that I decided to start school again in January {spur of the moment...of course} I am taking 16 credits at BYU-I {night classes and online classes which add to the work load}...I am looking forward to being done with generals! To add to the my crazy schedule I am applying for scholarships, still working (although not nearly enough), Matt is working with his dad and trying to figure things out for him and Marsh's custom business this fall, we are playing plenty {cabin, condo, snowmobiles, snowboarding, nieces, nephews, baby-sitting}, and of course--we decided that we were going to buy a townhouse. We are closing on Feb. 23rd and are very excited!!!! Busy busy! So, needless to say the house work tends to go undone for days...i'm just glad Matt is willing to pitch in! Maybe this isn't all that busy to some, but to me...it's insane! I never watch T.V. anymore {just Glenn occasionally and Top Chef every wednesday...thank you DVR!!} but...I can't complain, it has been a fun winter thus far! Here are some pictures...I have been slacking in taking my camera with me, but here are some highlights...
Christmas with the Surerus Fam:

Me and my two favorite guys! (Matt wouldn't wear his hat all day...party pooper!)

Gabe, Anna, Grandpa, and Seth!

This is the cape I made for Lauren...it says "super moe" and has a princess crown on it...I'm so glad she loved it!

The little kids reading books from Grandma...so cute!

The boys playing an intense game of foosball on the new table!
ANOTHER SLEEPOVER @ AUNT BREEZ & UNCLE MATT'S:

This is the result of washing the kids' hair and then turning on the jets...whoops! At least they had fun :)...hopefully the jets aren't ruined...

^ The crew ^
OTHER STUFF:

My little red-neck :)
I have more....but I don't know where my camera cord is so I'll post them when I find it! :)

O Christmas Tree....O Christmas Tree......

2008-12-06T14:47:00.004-07:00

Yesterday Me, Matt, Liz, & Jordan all went up to Ashton to cut our trees! On the way up we stopped at warm river to feed the fishies! Liz and Jordan had never done it before so that was fun. We had some chips in the truck so we fed those to the fish. Matt stuck our sweet water proof camera under water and got some cool pics of the fat fishes!

After that we went tree hunting! Here is what we found....

Lonely Christmas Ornaments :(

2008-12-03T11:37:00.006-07:00

Growing up we ALWAYS ALWAYS ALWAYS put up our Christmas tree the day after (or the day of) Thanksgiving. Well, this year, since we were gone for turkey day and the following days- we have yet to get a tree. I have all of my decorations out, some are placed and looking festive, others are misplaced and waiting for someone to hang them on a tree, put them under a tree, or staple them to the house. Here are some of my sad little lonely Christmas ornaments, lights, and presents....poor little guys! :(

Happy Turkey Day from Colorado!

2008-11-30T22:52:00.010-07:00

This year we got to do something I have never done for Thanksgiving...travel! That's right, I have NEVER EVER in my WHOLE life been away from home for Thanksgiving! (or any other big holiday come to think of it......) Matt's parents invited us to spend the week of Thanksgiving at a condo in Steamboat Springs, CO. The Yampa River runs right through Steamboat and has some good trout and pike fishin. So, of course we said we'd go ;-)!!! The drive down was about 8 hours...not too bad besides I couldn't sleep for the life of me..!!! ahh! We got in late Sunday night and got settled in. Monday we went shopping and explored the town. It was fun to see the snow-maker-thingys making snow on the different snow hills around us and seeing all of the new scenery. There were TONS of condos all smooshed together at the base of the moutains and then a cute downtown with lots of fun stores. The river runs right through town and it is open to catch and release fishing all through town. The girls (matts little sisters) went swimming at a fun hot springs place with a rock wall and slide. Matt and I ditched out on them to go fishing and explore the city a little more.

We all went ice skateing at an indoor rink. Matt didn't wat to go, but once he got there he loved it...he saw all the little boys who play hockey racing around the rink, so Matt tried to be like them and said that he wanted to "GO FAST"...it was hilarious watching him try it. And yes, he did eat it good :). I didn't get good pics at the rink...Kathy and Krys did though so I need to get those to post.

On Thanksgiving we had a catering place make our food and deliver it for us. IT WAS YUMMMMY! One of the best turkey day meals i've had! (Thanks Daren & Kathy!!!!!!) We also went to the movie theater twice while we were there. We saw Twilight (of course!!!) and I liked it (not love, I LOVED the books, liked the movie) Matt wanted to die the whole time, then we went to see Madagascar 2....we like to move it move it....!!!! One of the days we took a short hike up to Fish Creek Falls.

It would have been fun to take the other path that goes to the base of the falls, but it was snowed in and we didn't have the right gear to make it down to it. But it was cool to see...and on the path up to it we saw this cute little furry guy on the side...any ideas on what he is????

On Friday (last day to play) Matt and I decided to go up to the dam at Stagecoach Resevoir to do a little more fishin. It had snowed all night so we weren't sure what to expect. We found our way up there okay and the weather was overcast. About a half an hour into fishin it started to snow! It was really cool though!

It stopped after a bit though. Anyway...the water in the river was so clear you could see the fishies!!! It was pretty much all sight fishing which is awesome....especially if they bite!..which they didn't :) We didn't get to fish a whole lot, but we saw enough that it made us want to for sure take a trip back to the Yampa!
The next morning we headed home with 3inches of snow on the ground and more falling! All in all it was a fabulous trip and i'm glad we got to tag along!!!!

Our little float...

2008-11-30T22:21:00.006-07:00

Last Saturday we decided we needed to go on a float in Matt's dad's drift boat (thanks Daren :)...) before we left for our week long hoorah in Colorado (pictures to come). So, we ran into town in the AM to grab a few last minute supplies and then headed to Lorenzo Bridge to start our little float. We got on the river about 12:30 or so. I was nervous because I have never floated the Snake in a drift boat (only in my dad's big 'ol Woolridge with big motor and what not...), so I had visions of scary, high, fast water and us being without a motor...but luckily it was very low and extremely slow! The float was SOOO beautiful! There was "cranberry" colored bushes and "moss" colored plants and "golden" colored plants.....I had to correct Matt many times, he thought they were red, green, and yellow plants... :) Anyway...I loved the colors and decided I need to decorate my house in them...then I got home and looked around my house and realized I pretty much already have decorated in those colors...silly me. Back to the fishing...we anchored a couple of times and wade fished. I caught a little white fish and a little brown and Matt caught NOTTA! Which is always nice because then I get to rub it in :). (Love you sweetie!) Well, we were enjoying our time and then it started getting dark...fast....and we weren't near the dock. Not cool in my book...I wasn't planning on a moonlight float. So my feet stared to FREEZE. It was joyus. Matt, being the stud muffin husband that he is, showed off his man power and SPEED rowed us to the ramp. I'm sure the fact that I was huddled in a ball being a whimp about my feet made him go a lot faster.... thanks hunny!
Luckily we got to the dock right as it was almost dark and my feet didn't have to be amputated! It was a fun trip though... nice shallow water, pretty scenery, me catching the most fish, and not losing any toes....i'll definately do it again! -maybe next time i'll invest in feet warmers...........

Temple Pictures

2008-11-28T20:46:00.003-07:00

I know i'm a little slow at this whole blogging thing, but here are the pictures from when we went through the temple. Thanks to all of our AWESOME family and friends for coming to support us! It meant the world to us to have you all there on that very special day!!!

Bitter Bags!!!!

2008-10-31T15:46:00.002-06:00

I thought I might try selling my bags for fun (since I make them all the time and love it!!). So here is the blog I set up for them!
bitterbags.blogspot.com
I put an ad on cragslist a day or two ago and I already have an order! YAY!!! So, spread the word!

Sleep Over @ Our House!

2008-09-06T22:27:00.005-06:00

Labor day weekend we got to have Gabe, Seth, & Mia stay over at our house. It was SOOO FUN! The boys played in our jacuzzi tub and thought it was pretty dang cool. I had fun being girly with Mia and did her hair and painted her finger nails! She also wore around my tiara I used for my wedding...she was a pretty little princess! All of the kids sure had fun wrestling uncle Matt. We have our matress pulled out in our living room in between our couches, so it made a great trampoline for the kids! It was hard to get them settled down after that! It was a little rough sleeping with them though: Mia (she sleeps in circles and is a kicker!) and gabe rolled off the couch onto Matt and Seth rolled off the other couch onto me (three times). So that was quite the experience! But they were so fun and so good! Here are some pictures and a video of the highlights!

04-05 Surerus Family Pics

2008-08-02T12:57:00.002-06:00

The 4 posts I just put up are from 2004 and 2005. My mom was cleaning out her room and came across all of these pictures. I thought they were so fun! I had to post them just for memories...and in case any of you don't have copies of them you can take them from here! Be sure to look close at all of them..there are some priceless shots! Enjoy!!!

Just Some Cute ones...

2008-08-02T12:51:00.005-06:00

Brandon & Angie's Wedding

2008-08-02T12:34:00.007-06:00

This was such a fun night! My fav picture in this bunch is the one where Ang is putting Brandon's ring on....the right (wrong) hand..funny! :)

Christmas 2005

2008-08-02T12:03:00.007-06:00

Christmas 2004

2008-08-02T11:43:00.008-06:00

Surerus Familiy Campout 2008

2008-08-01T13:41:00.004-06:00

Here are the some highlights from our family campout at "grandma and grandpa's" & "aunt breezie and uncle matt's"!!

Lauren and Seth playing with the new wagon.

Katie checkin out the "girls tent".

All the cousins at the campout.

All the kids with silly noses on (from grandma Jovick)

All the silly kids with grandpa.

The kids making their photo frames in grandma and grandpas garage for their cousins pictures.

Lauren, Seth, and Uncle Matt by the campfire.

Lauren and Grandpa waiting to make smores.
Our "family flag". All of the kids had fun writing their names and drawing "something that means a lot to them" on the flag. Some of the pictures were family members, the scriptures, smiley faces, and in big leters "KEEP THE FAMILY TOGETHER".

I was the first one up (besides Paul) and so I decided Lauren looked so stinkin cute I needed a picture. Then I decided to take pics of all the little sleeping angels! :)

Dannette, penguin, and Kierra in the girls tent.

Uncle Matt...how cute ;-)

Gabe & Seth...Gabe is faking for the camera, but Seth really was out.

Chuck & Justin

Seth helping grandpa make pancakes!

Saturday was our Anniversary and Matt had bought me flowers...so we went in to show Dad & Mom and they wanted a picture...so dad took this one. Then Mom wanted to take one of us with Gabe and Seth...so we handed her the camera and the attempted to take a picture.....she couldn't figure it out so we told her she had it in the right spot and to just click the button....this is what happened....
......connie paid me to delete the picture of her taking a picture of herself...hopefully everyone had a chance to see it while it was up ;-).......
The flash blinded her....and we all started laughing. And yes, she almost wet her pants. (Mom you're too fun to tease!) She finnaly got it right and took another one the right way.
As you can see, we all were still laughing pretty hard...the little ones thought it was funny too! :)

Well that's all I took...Sorry Mari, Les, Jp, Shannon, Ang, and Brandon...I didn't catch you guys in any pics...NEXT TIME! Anyway...we had a blast and look foward to doing it again next year! Hope you enjoyed! Love you all!!!

Kaui

2008-07-14T09:14:00.000-06:00

I decided for the first few posts I might as well do some catching up. I'll start with our trip to Hawaii since there are still some who haven't heard about the trip and haven't seen the pics. So here it goes...
We left Idaho Falls Saturday April 12th and arrived in Lihue, Kaui that night. It was so warm and beautiful even at 10pm! A whole lot nicer than Idaho's never ending winter! Sunday we woke up and attempted to find the nearest church. We drove the wrong way for an hour and when we got back to the condo realized that if we would have went the other way it would have taken 15 minutes and we would have found the church! I was bummed out because I wanted to see what church was like in Hawaii...so that's on the top of our list for the next trip there. We decided to hike down to Sea Lodge beach and relax for the rest of the afternoon. Here's the hike down:

I thought this looked like a picture frame...so I made Matt go behind it for a picture...as you could imagine he wasn't too enthused:

This is Sea Lodge Beach:

The sand at this beach is so cool...it's all made of tiny shells. It kind of hurts to walk on, but its really neat to look at. I layed and played in it for pretty much the whole time we were there :).
On Monday we woke up early and went snorkling at Tunnels Beach. It was a blast! We got a little roughed up on the coral when the tide went down, but it was worth it! And we got to break in our underwater camera! It was really nice that we went early too because the only people there were locals and by the time we were through the tourists started coming.

After we snorkled Matt layed on the beach and and I crawled around digging through the sand for little shells. There was a local lady there doing the same thing, and she had a bucket full of treasures!

After Tunnels we stopped at the condo for a snack and a nap. Then we went to Queen's Bath. This is the path down to it:

This was a cool little waterfall along the path to Queen's Bath.

On the way back we both rinsed off the salt water from the ocean by playing under the waterfall! Here is Matt doing his thing...let me just say if there was ever a picture to zoom in on...this is IT! I'm sending this into Sports Illustrated swimsuit edition for him....I really think he has a chance ;-)!!!

This is Queen's Bath. For those who don't know what it is, it is this pool of water surrounded by rocks that hangs out on the edge of land by the ocean. When the tide is low and clam you can sit in it and swim in it like a pool. When the tide is high only locals and crazy people jump into it becasue the waves crash over the sides of the "pool" and the water gets sucked back out which means it could suck you out too if you are in there.

As you can see in the picture above, the waves are crashing up against the rocks and there are 3 people in the pool. All of them are local. The waves were huge! The kids would jump in at just the right time and then hurry and swim out. Well, if you know Matt then you won't be suprised at the next pictures.
In he jumps...he sees the waves getting ready to hit....

and out he comes...you can't even see the rocks any more...just water. Sooo scary. (Notice the locals tanned skin compared to Matt...too funny)

Needless to say, I was TERRIFIED.
We decided to find a smaller pool so I could swim too. We found one that looked nice, but looks can be decieving.

Looks okay right? Well when I went down to join Matt, a HUGE wave decided to come crashing over and make me smach into the rocks. Matt was smart enough to dive into the pool. Yah, let's just say I'm not going into pools when tide is that high ever again! But it was fun!

That night we ate at Bubba's Burgers...YUMM! We needed some fuel because the next morning we would start our hike on the Na Pali Coast!
Here we are at the begining of our hike. The view all along the hike was UREAL! We were walking along the coastline looking down at the ocean part of the time, and at other times we were walking underneath overgrown trees and greenery. It was amazing!

This next piture is hard for me to look at...brings back bitter memories...:P...so we got to our camp after hiking 6 miles, we were hot and tired, but Matt wanted to hike up to a waterfall that was sapossedley 2 miles from camp. We started up the trail which consisted of these slippery boulders you see around me in the picture. After 45 min or so of hiking we decided it was never going to end and turned back. On the way down the fuel for our stove fell out of Matt's pack. So in order to boil water that night he had to start a fire the hard way. After we boiled a few pots and spilled most of th water we called it quits and went to bed.

Since we didn't want to risk getting sick from the boiled water, we woke up at 4AM so it would be cooler as we hiked out. We had one bottle of water to get us 6 miles. Check out my sweet head lamp:

This is a sweet shot of the coast heading back. We hiked in and out of all those mountains you can see.

The hike out was rough, but we made good time. We saw baby goats, ate guava and some little orange things. The last 2 miles about killed me without any water to drink...but obviously I made it! We were pretty famished so we stopped at the closest food place and got wated and I think I even had a snow cone...Then we hurried back to the condo for a snooze.
That night we shoped in Hanalei and ate at Tropical Taco...Verrry YUMMY....!
The next day we ventured to the south part of the island to shop at Hilo Hatties and buy our "Red Dirt Shirts". Then we drove over to Waimea Canyon. It's pretty amazing! Take a look:

Here's a sweet lookin rooster at the canyon parking lot. Chickens are ALL OVER the island. It's funny to be relaxin at the beach and have a chicken walk right up to you, or to pull into a parking lot and ts full of chickens...good times...

Later we ate at this place called Pizza Hanelai....it was so good we went back the next morning at 10 to eat but had to wait until 12 when they opened. We had to wait though...it was worth it too!

I almost forgot...we went ZIPLINING!!!! It was a blast! We went to Princeville Ranch and went on I think 10 different zip lines. It was a lot of fun and such a pretty view!

One of the days we snorkled Kei beach (if you haven't noticed my spelling is very bad)...it was really neat because there were so many fish! They weren't shy at all and would swim all around you!

And of course you have to do this when your at the beach...how sweet of him...

The last day we were there we stopped at the lighthouse and bird conservatory. We saw a seal soakin up the sun on some rocks, and we also saw tons of birds! It was pretty neat.

Well that's it! It was lots of fun and well worth it! We definately want to go back!

*Our Bitter*Sweet Life*