Back to the Grind

I can't believe that my spring break is over. It seems like I just left Boise a day ago. Well here is the report.

1. Big thanks to my friend Tracey Windley and his wife for putting us up while we were there. It was lots of fun to see his house and joke around with him.
2. While we were there John got to play with Tracey's son Phillip who is around Johns age. John had lots of fun playing with all the toys there and Phillip kept busy trying to stop John from playing with any of his toys. It was a cycle that lasted the whole time we were there. There was only a couple of shoving matches. We tried to keep John under control. When the toys were not an issue they had fun chasing each other around and saying letters that were on the wall in Phillips room.
3. We were able to visit with Lori (our old boss and great friend) and the rest of the office where both Marissa and I worked. It seemed like all the management in the office showed up and greeted us. It made us miss being there in Moscow and seeing all the friends we have there. Interesting side note though. I had to change a diaper of Johns while we were there at the University of Idaho's Commons Building. Well I found out that they don't have baby changing places there. Soooo I had to revert to my old Police ways. I had John face the wall and spread em'. It wasn't the best method but it worked. Ha ha.
   
4. We were able to meet up with Krystal and Karl, friends of ours that still live in Moscow. Krystal is one of Marissa's closest friends. They seem to have a tight bond and just click I guess. It was good to see Marissa and Krystal pick up just like we never left. They have a little boy now and he came out cute too... which furthers my theory that people raised in Moscow have good looking baby's.
   
5. One of the best and worst times of the trip was visiting my parents. If you read the last post than you know that they might have been carrying the RSV Virus that for adults is not bad, but for baby's its really bad. My Mom and Dad had to keep a distance when we got together and couldn't get near John or us for fear they might pass on germs. My mom said it best when she said that, "it feels like prison. You can only look and hear but you can't touch." Not that my mom has even been near a prison in her whole life but it really does describe the situation. I could tell how hard it was on both of them to not be able to touch our little guy. I also had a tough time not being able to hug my parents. We had fun though at parks where it was still cold but not that bad. John didn't notice anything because he was having so much fun. One park had 6 slides there for kids to go down. John loved it. He did get a bloody lip once from not going down a slide correctly. (I went with him every time after that. Being a parent is stressful) He showed off to Mom and Dad with his letters and shapes. It was a lot of fun.
   
6. It was a great trip. I met so many people I knew on our short trip. The trip home was a little crazy though. We woke up on the day to leave and there was 4-6 inches of snow! Highways closed, streets not plowed, high winds, and cold temps. It was crazy. Moscow weather I guess. I loaded up the car and waited. Around noon I decided to leave. There was still the winds to deal with but it was blue skys and the temp. was going up. I only had a little patch here and there of wet roads but most of the way was great. When I got home I unpacked and went to sleep. Hopefully we will have some pictures for you too see when we have the time to get them uploaded onto the computer. As soon as we do we will post them for you.
   

That is the skinny of our way too short vacation. Well I better get back to getting my things ready for work tonight. Hope you all are having a great day and will keep safe.

-Brad-

Change of Plans

I had my last class of the day today and now it's Spring Break! Yea! We had planned to spend a week with my mom up in Moscow but thats on hold now. Mom and Dad were visiting Ashley in Colorado and as it turned out, one of their kids came down with RSV. He had to be on oxygen and the whole bit. So, we are pretty sure that Mom is carrying the RSV Virus, though it doesn't effect adults that much. Usually presents itself as a mild cold in adults. Mom and I both agreed that it's the last thing we want John to get. So then we had to change the plans. I will be staying with my best friend Tracey for a couple of days while we are in Moscow. We still plan on seeing old friends and hanging out with people up there. I told mom that we can go to a park where she can see John (who she hasn't seen since last summer) play around and we can talk, as long as we are 6 feet apart or so. :( Yeah its very sad. Both Mom and Dad and us have been looking forward to this for quite awhile but it will have to wait some more. It will be fun though. Regardless, we will be going up during the summer to visit for a week or so. Hopefully Dads work will send him down here again for a meeting. Then mom can come too and spend time here with us. Thats about all we have planned for the trip. I have to head back to Boise on Thursday so I can be rested up for work on Friday. So thats the plan. Other than that, Marissa is currently going thru all the old clothes of John's and putting them in drawers for the new baby when it comes. We are getting prepared. John came a month early to surprise us, so we want to be on guard for this next little guy in case hes like his brother. ha ha. Well hope you all have a great time. We will not post for another week. See ya!

Poop Slide

There are some days that you wish you could push your kid onto someone else. Yesterday was one of those days. I love John and most of the time he is the cutest little tank of a boy. Yesterday morning Brad changed John's poopy diaper and took him upstairs to get some clothes. On the way back down stairs John slid on his bum all the way down. When Brad got to the bottom he looked up the stairs and saw that John had left a trail of "love" all the way down. Sometime between changing his diaper and the 8 minutes later that he came down the stairs he had filled his diaper with a special surprise for the stairs. Being a mom is so fun. I love spending my morning cleaning up after poop slides.......

Other than that we are doing fine. Brad is busy busy taking tests before spring break next week. We are looking forward to spending a week together. I am getting bigger and bigger every day and some days I think the baby is trying to bust through my belly. John is getting smarter and smarter everyday. He can point out letters of the alphabet if you ask him. Some he still mixes up but he is only 20 months. I attribute his letter learning to Sesame Street that he watches during percussion. Thank you Elmo!

Life of Pi

I have a book for anyone looking for a good book to read. It is a novel and very thought provoking. It is called the Life of Pi by Yann Martel. I read it for a book club that I am in and I haven't been able to stop thinking about the story. It is more of a book for adults to read than for young adults because he was shipwrecked and some scenes are a bit graphic. It is about an Indian boy named Pi who survived a shipwreck in a lifeboat with a Bengal tiger for 227 days. It can be slow at times but the ending keeps you thinking. I am really not one who recommends slow moving novels but this one is worth it to finish it to the end and the author is very descriptive.

Does anyone have a good book that they recently finished that wants to share please let me know.

Trouble Maker

John is so funny. I am grateful that he makes it obvious when he is getting in trouble. He will do one of three things: he will grab whatever he is not supposed to touch and keep saying "no no no" the whole time, he will keep looking at you over and over just to see when you will spot what he is doing, or he will run off and hide either under the table or in the kitchen cupboard and be super silent (which he never is). I know he won't make it this easy for me for long but I am glad for the innocence of naughty little children. I am sure that he will find new ways to be naughty when the baby comes.

Funny Cat Video

John loves this video that we found on Cuteoverload.com. He laughs and laughs every time he watches it. Like most other things, it is funny the first few times but not so funny the 20th time you have seen it in a row. John hopes that you like it as much as he does.

Also, check out the link to facebook photo album link under our favorite sites list. We will put most of our new pictures there.

Happy Birthday Nana!!

Happy Happy Birthday Nana (Charlyn) Dear.
Happy Days will Come to You All Year.
If I Had One Wish Then it Would Be,
A Happy Happy Birthday to You From Me (Us).

We love you and hope that you have a great 35th Birthday (Again)!!!


Other than my mother's Birthday, we went to the CF clinic today for a regular check-up. They said that John was doing perfect and they love how huge he is. Compared to some of the other CF children in there he looks like a tank. He is in the 75th percentile for height (33.75 inches) and the 90th percentile for weight (31 lbs.). He was such and angel during the whole thing. He sat patiently while they listened to his lungs and heart and swabbed his throat. He even let then take his blood pressure without squirming around. I guess that he saves all of his best squirming and tantrums for me and Brad at home, to which I am very grateful. His lungs are clean as a whistle and everything is really going well. The only problem with John is his lack of social interaction with children of his own age. We have been playing hookie from church the last couple of weeks because RSV has been going around. Also all of our other friends have been ill and haven't been able to play. Hopefully with Spring arriving in Boise we will be able to have some play-dates soon. John is eager to go outside and chase the squirrels down. Maybe that will be our afternoon activity. Have an awesome day!!
~Marissa

Free Market Nightmare

I have been meaning to post something about this for awhile now. From the first week we moved here we have been plagued by door to door salesman. Its driving me crazy! Every week at least twice a week. The worst thing is that its the same couple of people. They are brothers and work as a team or occasionally they will separate to get all the doors in the complex faster. They have really got it down. For a 7 and 9 year olds they are really starting to get to me. ha ha. So it's our neighbors kids. They sell everything from some candy to our neighbors flowers that she grows and takes care of. They have been branching out too. They offer to sweep our porch and shovel snow ect.. for money. I think they are guilty of tax evasion or something. They really are good kids. I fixed their bikes last summer for them so they could ride them around. For the last bit they have been prone to begging for things. Charcoal for a BBQ that their mother doesn't know about. A broom. To come in and play. Bike tire patch. Me to fix the said tire, with the patch I am going to give them. For food we are eating or for snacks. That is what really bothers me. I can't stand begging for stuff they don't need or can go next door to their place and get. Anyway, we had to share our little story about them.

Marissa is getting kicked bunches every day now by the baby. The pregnancy is going great. Baby is great. John loves to kiss and hug the baby belly. He is also learning a bunch too. He knows all his shapes now. He still can't tell us the name on some of them but he knows what they are and will point them out for us when we ask him to find them. It's exciting for us to see how he is growing and learning.



School is going great for me. I have my application in for my program. I just hope that I get in. I am stressed about that I really don't know what I will do if I don't get in. I am getting stressed just typing about it so nows the time to stop that. lol. I am doing great at work and having fun at home. My friends and I are changing our game night game to a different one. We were playing Battlefield 2 for a long time but now we are on Call of Duty 4 (COD4). So thats been fun. Well thats about all I can think of for now.

Hope all is going well for y'all,
Brad Hughett

First Crush

The weather has been really nice in Boise the past couple of weeks. We have been into the high 40's to the high 50's and it feels a lot like spring is on the way. We have all been restless over the winter and especially through this sickness season that has hit Boise. All of John's friends have been sick and so we have not had anyone to play with. Luckily we have a playground right outside the back door. John has made friends with a kinder-garden girl that lives in our complex. She often comes to the sliding glass door and plays with John through the glass. She will even play little games with him when we go outside. I think he loves her. He always goes to the door and calls out her name. She has even told John that she is his best friend. It is cute.

Last night when we went to check on John before we went to bed we found him like this. He was a little fussy and gassy about an hour before we went to check on him . I guess he found a position that feels good. What a funny little kid.


Tonight we are going to a BSU basketball game (thanks Paul for the tickets!). We are excited to bring John. He doesn't go to these things very often but he usually does really well. We are hoping that with us and Auntie Rachael (who he really loves) and uncle Jordan there to keep him entertained that it should be a good night.

When we went to go pick up the tickets yesterday from my brother Paul, John took one look at him and said "PAUL!!" like he sees him everyday. We haven't even seen my brother for over a month because poor Kali has had RSV, so it was pretty funny. Paul is in a video that John watches on our website and John also has a good memory. What a little smarty.

Hope you are all doing well.

Child Labor is great!

Lets see, well lets start with the title of the post. Story Time. Marissa had to go to the doctors office this morning and John and me were left to our own devices. So what to do with a little one? Put him to work! First off I had John run our rent check to the land lady. He didn't know the way so I had to take him there. Some of the neighbor kids left some rocks on our back porch so I had John pick them up and put them under the bush nearby. I had to help on the bigger ones. If any of you have seen the snow sculptures I made this winter then you may have noticed that there was some grass mixed in with the snow. Well the snow is gone but the grass stayed. I had John go out back and sweep off the dead grass. I had to hold the top of the broom because it was too tall for him to sweep effectively. We got that done too. We had to wash our hands and dry them. I had to pick him up so he could wash. Then we took a break and I had John do his percussion. For any of you who haven't seen John do percussion look on the right side of our blog here under our video section. Its very funny. After that we had some free time for a few minutes. Marissa came home during that time. From what I gather I could have done all that by myself in a fraction of the time, but then John would have not had as much fun and I would have had to think up lots of games for him. All in all it worked out great.

Marissa had a crazy time this week. We were eating breakfast when she told me to flip the calender to March. I flipped the calender and then Marissa Flipped. She noticed she had a prenatal doctors appointment 15 min. from then. I had her rush out the door to get there while I watched John. I had to miss school that day and I hope I didn't miss much. While Marissa was there the doctor (Resident) couldn't find a good heartbeat for our growing little baby. He told her that it sounded too fast and then too slow. He brought in some better equipment for monitoring fetal heartbeats but the machine broke...So she had to go to the hospital around the NICU but not in it, to get a doctor to make sure it was ok. Well after an hour or more of Marissa waiting with her strapped to wires and the such, they finally told her that the heartbeat was great. Marissa did say that the whole time she was in there that the baby was kicking and moving like crazy. He has been a very active little guy. So now Marissa has follow up visits 3 times this week planned, and one visit for John to the CF Clinic. Busy times.

I started some Spring Cleaning. It was a great excuse to throw some things away. I love that! Now all I have to do is spring clean when Marissa is not around and then I can really go at it. She can always find a spot for the random thing I have my sights on. I really want to get rid of this cookie jar that we have had for a long time. Its a themed one so you can only bring it out once a year...except we don't even do that most of the time. I think I just had an idea...Wait, I didn't say anything. It never happened if she asks you.

Just a small note. We will be spending Spring break with my family in Moscow. We are super excited and I'm sure you will hear it again before we go. Its been awhile since we have seen them. We have John say goodnight to the grandparents picture every night before bed to prepare him for the visit.

Well, that's all for now. Hope you all are doing well!
-Brad-