The Polar Express

The December 1st we started our Christmas Celebration by going on The Polar Express in Durango, a town near by.
We had a great time, we got the book from the library a few days before and read it lots with Cora so that she would be more excited. And she loved it! Although the actual train ride was focused more on the movie than the book, which I guess is a good thing cause the book isn't really that long. :)

They did a reenactment of the boy getting on the train then we all got on the train and got hot chocolate as thick and rich as melted chocolate bars :) and really good chocolate chip cookies. And rode to the North Pole and saw the little boy get on Santa's sleigh to receive the first gift of Christmas.  With lots of lights and elves all over, Cora's favorite part was a huge snowman cause she isn't such a fan of Santa.

On the way back everyone in our car sang Christmas songs and Santa came by and gave everyone a silver bell. It was a magical night.

Chad and Cora as waiting for the train... we ended up over dressing for the event it wasn't as cold as we expected so we ended up carrying a few coats, hats, mittens, and blankets :)

The Polar Express... This was the best part when the train pulled up all the chefs and conductors were hanging out side waving as it past by.

The conductor even punched a letter out on each ticket. And let the punched out ticket fall all over our face

The delicious cookies. They had really pretty green and red sparkles all over them. It was like eating magic

After the train ride we went out to eat with our friends the Patrick's.
And just so you know the bell still rings for all of us.

First few weeks of October

The first part of October was spent in our new home, Cortez, CO.
We were excited to start a new part of our lives and see what it is like to live in a new place. Here is a quick recap of what happened the first 2 1/2 weeks of our October.
(Again a explanation of each picture left to right top to bottom)
-This is where we stayed for a little over 2 weeks, a studio apartment. Chad's boss was very kind in letting us stay here until we found a place to live. So the first two pictures are the whole place. It was shaped like an L, both pictures were taken in the same place just turned. We were quite excited to move into a bigger place but it is a good memory now :)
-Lucy Lu all bundled up.
-The best thing about the apartment was the land that it was on, it was beautiful with chickens, cows, horses, bunnies, dogs, and a playground. So our time luckily passed quickly. Cora loved to go for walks to see all the animals but really loved the horses. She also renamed all the animals, she thought of the names all by herself. The horses were Pupcake and Custard (both from Strawberry Shortcake), the bunnies were Max and Ruby, and her favorite dog was Strawberry.
-The Smith's also let us borrow this awesome bike that would move just by moving the steering wheel back and forth. It was fun and it wasn't even built for people my size :)
-This was a picture of Cora and her cousins right before we left Logan... kinda out of place but it was in October.
-During Lucy's nap when Cora wasn't sleeping I usually had to turn a show on for Cora so that she would be quite enough for Lucy to fall asleep... Cora didn't mind.
-She also started to really REALLY love books and would just look at books for ever.
-Probably 4 of the 5 week nights we would go to the rec center and go swimming. It is an awesome pool with a kid pool, duck slide, and a lazy river.
-A not so awesome part of the apartment is that we found a black widow INside the apartment... yeah it was gross and quickly disposed of. And also this little fella just outside our door. It was pretty nasty. At one point in my life I really wanted a tarantula but I really have no idea why that would very be.
-Lucy loving her toes, her favorite toy
-Playing outside.
-Cora really doesn't like showers so she got her own little bathtub aka kitchen sink. It was a perfect fit.

September

September was a great and busy month.
We spent a lot of time just chillin at home and in the sunshine. We found out that we were moving near the end of the month so also lots of time spent with family and friends.
Now a short description of all the pictures ( left to right, top to bottom)
- Cora and her cousin Issac playing the piano. Cora loves all of her cousins very much
- The worst part of the month was that for about two weeks we had very heavy equipment working right in front of our house. So we often had to park about a block away and the equipment was very loud. I would get pretty upset that they just kept digging up the road and then re-leveling it. The worst part about it was they had this seismic roller thing to push the dirt down but it would literately shake our entire house and was really loud.  Needless to say it got on my nerves a few times. :)
-Just playing in the sunshine with poppers
-Cora eats peanut butter oatmeal almost everyday for breakfast and the morning of this picture her dog teeny tiny was helping feed her. I thought it was pretty funny.
- Pretty Lucy in the sunshine
-Lucy loves her toes
-Again pretty Lucy
-Cora with pigtails even though you can't really see them she looks cute with them :)

And a few videos...
Cora and Lucy both love their daddy

 This was when we were leaving to Colorado... I asked Cora where we were going.

August

So yes I know it is very much past August but I never really documented it here is a quick recap.
-Awesome Bean Teepees with Grandma Phillips
-When riding in the car the sun would get in Cora's face and she really didn't like it so we kept a spare hat in the car for her to wear to block the sun. And so it often just covered her whole face.
-Falling asleep in the car after fun long days.
-Making lots and lots of jam.
-Pink's Snow Cones (they were some of the best snow cones ever!)
-More snow cones at Aggie football game. Cora's first USU football game, we only made it to halftime but it was fun none the less.
-Camping at the river then going to the lake the next day. I hadn't been since I was a little kid, great memories to share with my family.
-Lucy was a thumb sucker. (it is now November and she no longer sucks her thumb)
-Playing out side and in the tub both great places. In the tub one I was trying to get a good picture of Cora's curls... specifically the one curl right in the middle of her forehead.
-Picnics at the park.
-Sister love at Grandma Bischoff's house. We were able to live in her house in Smithfield for about 2 months. It was great.
-Cute Lucy
-And last picture is rainbow milk... one of Cora's favorite activities. 

And a few videos from the month

What is next for us?

 If you are wondering what that beautiful city is you see below is.... It is our new home. Cortez, Colorado.

As of yesterday afternoon we are going to be moving to Cortez in about two weeks. Chad has been offered a new title of Human Resource Manager for the Smith Group. And we accepted it!

The Smith Group owns about 35 different Aaron's stores all over the western United States and and continuing to grow and have asked Chad to come be their HR :)

You don't have to read this next part but I am going to put it on here for my memories sake.
Last Wednesday Chad had an interview with a guy named Mike here at the Aaron's store in Logan and on Thursday a lady, Patty called him and had another interview and asked if he and his family could come down for another interview.

So yesterday Wednesday September 12 Chad, Lucy, and I (we left Cora with my sister Emily) went to the Logan Airport to be picked up by the company jet to go down to Cortez, Colorado. It was a little plane with six seats and only took about an hour and a half to get there. We got there and just driving to the office we started to like the town.
Chad then had an interview for about 30 minutes with me outside the door trying to listen to what they were saying :) Then Chad and I took their car and explored the town for about an hour we then went back to the office and they told us about a town that was 10 miles out of town that we really pretty and pretty much told us to go look at it. I don't think they were done discussing the interview. So we took off about and went to Dolores, it was extremely pretty and cute little town. We talked for a bit then went back and they offered the job to Chad!
We then went for another short drive to the church building that was just up the road from the office and decided that we were going to except it. We went and told them and everyone cheered :)

The main boss offered a studio apartment on his property for us to stay in until we find a place to live so pretty much we are beyond excited for a new adventure in life.
We stopped by the bosses house and it was literally a dream house. It is on 109 acres of rolling hills, a small canyon with a pond, horses, cows, bunnies, dogs, and pretty much any recreation toy there is. :)
We feel so blessed to be able to live there for a short time until we can find a bigger place and to be working with great people.

We have loved our time here in Logan and will be really sad to move but we are excited to see what it is like to live out side of Franklin/Cache/Box Elder Counties.  Everyone we have talked to there have all said that their ward is the best and that it is a great place to live so we are excited to meet new people.

Chad starts October 2 and the rest is completely unknown :)
So if anyone knows someone in Cortez tell them we are coming :)

This is the company plane that we flew on.

And here is Business Man Chad :) I sure love him and am so proud of all the hard work he does for our family

North Logan 24th Parade

On the 24th of July we got to enjoy the best parade of each year.
The first year we lived in North Logan my dad and sister Emily where out on a bike ride on the 24th of July and came in saying that there was a parade on the street right by our house. Every since then we have made it a priority to be there.

This year was no exception. And it doesn't disappoint, with all the candy how could it?

Emi really loved the sucker

There was also time for a little 24th nap. Did I mention that Lucy falls asleep anywhere?

Our Quick trip to Arizona

Over the 24th of July weekend we decided to take a quick trip down to Kingman, Arizona to visit our good friends to Poe's. It was fun to get out of our element and the girls did great in the car.
Arizona was a lot hotter than I expected but we had a good time with great people.

Chad really did enjoy the trip but I just thought this pictures was really funny... Mad Chad

Cora had a few good naps in the car

Getting a little tired of the trip. Actually this is Cora's face when I ask her to smile for me. We are working on it

The theme of the trip is stated in this video.... Cora kept losing her binky so Chad wrote a song for her.




















Also on the way there we stopped in Beaver and I had a flash back of last year stopping at the same gas station with my brother Toph and sister Cathrine.  Toph went to this restaurant and asked if they had any soup. The guy said "no, but I could put some water on a burrito for you"
It was a great memory to come back to me.

Lucy Lu

 Today Lucy turns 3 months old. I am so lucky to be her mom and love taking care of her. She is a great baby, often time I feed her change her bum then Cora and I talk to her and she ends up falling asleep right on the floor. Needless to say we have been spoiled with such a great baby.

Here are her stats for her 2 month check up:

13 Pounds 1 ounce (93 Percentile)

and

23 3/4 inches long (91 Percentile)

 

 Lucy is a talker especially to her Dad, I don't remember Cora talking/babbling as much as Lucy does. She also loves to be outside or with her sister Cora.

 This is us just chilling on the front lawn.

 Sometimes we may be a little too much loven' from a said sister.

 As you can see from the pictures Lucy still doesn't take a binky but she has found her fist and sometimes thumb and has taken a liking to those :) I have a lot of pictures of this cause I think it is so cute. She sucks on her fist and clutches blanket or clothes with the other one. We will see how cute I think it is when she is two and should stop :)

 Lucy gets lots of loves from everyone she is around.

What a pretty girl

Cora Jo is Two

Cora's Two year old stats:

29 and a half pounds (78 percentile)

and

35.3 inches tall (81 percentile)

and

19.75 head size (97 percentile)

Because I have been a lousy blogger I am going to update the last two months on Cora Jo all in one post.
The beginning of May we welcomed Lucy into our home. Cora has been a fantastic big sister. She is mostly very kind to Lucy and loves to give her hugs and kisses. She surprises me with how motherly instinct she has in helping me take care of Lucy.
Also in May Cora had to second birthday. It was a really good day. She woke up to balloons all over our house and a candle in her french toast. Grandma Bischoff stopped by for a bit after breakfast and gave her a much loved mommy and baby ducks. We then headed to McDonalds Play Place in Smithfield because it was cold and rainy to go play at the park. Her cousins Ava, Madalyn, and Emi joined us there for some play time and Cora's first Happy Meal :)
We then went to Aggie Ice Cream with the Huff family to celebrate Owen's last day of school and Cora's birthday, Cora got Aggie Blue Mint, she loves the color blue. Next stop was home for a birthday nap but when we got there Grandpa Phillips had left some delicious donuts and candles so Cora blew out a few candles and had a bite or two then went to bed.  Once Chad got home we all went out to eat at Texas Roadhouse then went to Grandma Phillips' house for a party with all the cousins, Aunts, and Uncles.
It was a great day, for about a week after Cora woke up and would ask where the balloons were and wanted Candles in all of her food.

x

June was pretty low key I think cause I can't really remember what happened besides lots of playing at parks, playing at grandmas riding her bike and jumping on the trampoline, and going swimming a few time. Cora LOVES to go swimming she often asks to go swimming with her dad "go swim with my dad" She also likes to go down the slide at the Logan Aquatics Center.

You can't really see but it was raining really hard in this picture. It was a good day. We love rain

July a few things happened.

On the 3rd of July we had a cook out at my moms house with all the Phillips crew then headed home to Dee Ave to watch the fireworks from our porch, a good thing about living on the second floor :) We watched them with our neighbors Cami and Dustin who treated us with sparklers before the show began. Cora liked seeing the fireworks but I think was happy that they were far away and that she could go to bed soon after then were over.
Then on the 4th we went down to Brigham City where Chad had his annual Home Run Derby with his long time friends Chet and Ryan while the women and babies stayed at the Bischoff's nice and cool house. After the Derby we had an other cook out then headed home for work the next day. Summer time is the best.

The middle of July we moved in a new house! We now live in Smithfield at Chad's Grandma's house. It is so fantastic to have a back yard and a bit (aka a TON) more room. We love it. 


Since the 24th of July was on a Tuesday and Chad got it off we decided to also take off Friday and Monday and to take a quick road trip down to see our friends Stephen and Kristen Poe in Arizona. We left on Thursday and stayed the night at my brother Christopher's house then got up bright and early Friday and drove the rest of the way to Kingman, AZ. It was a fun trip, really really hot. Much hotter than I expected but it was fun to see our friends and to spend some time with them.  We went to church with them and a quick update on Nursery... Cora has been going for about 5 weeks now and has no problem going! It was great. We just made her cry for the whole two hours one week and ever since then she goes with no crying. Amazing :)
We got back to Logan in time for the North Logan 24th Parade. It is the best parade of the whole year. I love it.

A few things about Cora:
- She loves to sing songs and/or have them sung to her. At bedtime she always asks for more songs
- When we first moved into our house all she wanted to do was play with the hose
- She LOVES Peanut butter. We eat it at least once a day either in oatmeal on bread, on bananas, or just plain.
- She is also potty trained! It wasn't so bad I just decided one day no more diapers and had to clean up a few accidents but over all she does great. side note she still wears pull ups to bed so advise on how to potty train for nights is accepted :)
- She sleeps in a big bed. About a week ago she just decided that she wanted to sleep in the big bed and so today we packed up her crib and is now officially a big girl.
- Cora loves to gallop. Galloping everywhere she goes.
- Cora is very protective and proud of her little sister. She loves to lift up Lucy's car seat cover and show her off to her cousins.
-Cora does not like grapes and is not to fond of watermelon... I think she is crazy.
- Favorite foods include: Peanut Butter, oatmeal, eggs, beans, cheese, milk (anything protein), yogurt, bananas, Popsicles, granola, chips, and candy.
- People always notice her eyes and her hair. She is our Curly Q
- Every time she wakes up in the morning or from her nap she asks "where my dad?"
- She also still has her binky.. no comment

That turned out to be a really long post so we love our Cora Jo  :)