RECIPE SWAP

The time has come to say goodbye to a few of us (but just for the summer). So Becca Adams was brave enough to have all of us wives over, with our kids, for a fun recipe swap. There was lots of good food and great recipes, but nothing compared to the wonderful company!

Back L-R: Abby, Becca, and Audrey Adams, Erin Mayfield, Paige and Michelle Peterson, Megan Arnold, Olivia and Angie Gurney Middle L-R: Mauressa and Teagan Juassi, Chelsey, Brinley, and Kamryn North, Ashley and Kamay Lemon, Sheena White, Laura Benson Front L-R: CJ and Paige Mackay, Polly Anderson and Lauren Peterson

REMINDS ME OF WHEN I WAS PREGNANT

When you're pregnant, after about month 4 or 5, you're not supposed to sleep on your back anymore. And at about 9 months old, CJ figured that applied to him as well...

OUR FAMILY PICS...again

I know we already posted our family pictures, but those were just thumbnails that you could barely see. Now that we have the digital negatives, I've uploaded a slideshow so you can see them in more detail (this is for you, Mom :). Enjoy!

TOO CUTE TO JUST SIT IN AN ALBUM

I thought these pics of CJ taking a bath in the sink were too adorable to not post them:

Bryce is pretty excited about the fact that CJ holds all his toys like a football...

Paige is pretty excited about those big blue eyes :)

CJ's 2nd TOOTH

CJ's second tooth came in on Monday - it's his bottom right. These pictures are kind of blurry, but they do the job.

Disclaimer: Sorry to all those who get tired of seeing pics of CJ...but keep in mind, both sets of his grandparents live out of town :)

YOU CAN NOW SEE BRYCE ON THE WEB (besides our blog)

Click HERE to see our man, Bryce, doing what he loves...

The fact that Bryce and his intramural team are being used to promote the law school better result in some extra perks, if you know what I mean. Who says you can't have an athletic scholarship in law school?

CJ and BRODY...BFF

Heather and Brody Dobbs, with CJ and Paige. And in case you didn't catch it in this pic...

...here it is blown up! If CJ and Brody are already inseparable, we've got a fun road ahead :)

BOWL AND PITCHER PARK

This weekend was gorgeous! So we took advantage of the beautiful weather and joined some friends for dinner at the Bowl and Pitcher Park in Riverside National Park. We had a great BBQ (each family brought their own meat), with chips, drinks, yummy salads, and way too many scrumptious desserts, including homemade ice cream and dutch oven peach cobbler (way to go, Peterson's)! And then we laughed and talked until the sun went down and we couldn't see anything :) We're SO blessed to have made such wonderful friends here in Spokane!

L-R, clockwise: Tyson holding Brody Dobbs, Heather Dobbs, Becca Adams, Paige Mackay, Bryce holding CJ Mackay, Nate Anderson, Gage Arnold, Michelle Peterson (center), Brett holding Paige Peterson, Levi holding Audrey Adams, Polly Anderson holding Abby Adams, Laura holding Halle Benson, Megan Arnold (not pictured: Brooks and son, Will, Benson; Lauren Peterson (Michelle and Brett's daughter), and Dave Lewendowski)

Our little family enjoying it's first outdoor get-together in Spokane...it's about time!

THE MACKAY BOYS

L-R: Bryce, Cameron, CJ, and Greg Mackay...we're missing Tyler :(

We enjoyed a too-short visit from Bryce's family this last week. They stayed the night Wednesday, on their way from Seattle to Rexburg, to pick up Bryce's little brother from his first year of college. Then on their way back, they stayed again on Friday. It was great to see them!

DON'T WORRY...HE'S STILL BREATHING

CJ was playing on the bed when I hopped in the shower. I could hear him jabbering away while I was showering, but didn't think much of it when he stopped...until I saw this! You can imagine my initial fear when I saw my son slumped over on the bed like this (especially because he's been sick the last couple of days). But then I heard his little snores, and had to keep my laughing silent so as to not wake him up. When I finally moved him (I felt guilty for letting him sleep like that), there was a little puddle of drool...it's only cute when babies do it!

OUR KID's GOT TALENT!

Okay, okay, CJ may not be rolling over both ways just yet (but he is SO close! it's totally gonna happen this week, for sure), or crawling, or even walking, like some kids his age. But can they do this?!

- be sure to pause the music at the bottom of the page so you can hear him

FYI: this isn't even his best performance! of course, when we turn the camera on, he gets distracted, so what you're getting are just the tidbits of what he's capable of :)

MORE CJ MOMENTS

4/4/08: CJ loves to stuff everything in his mouth, so we thought we'd make it worthwhile. This nifty contraption allows you to put fresh food in the mesh sac for your baby to naw on (this morning = banana). Thanks, Jenny, for the great gift! This is his first time using it and he loved it!

Later that day we tried Zwieback toast for the first time as well. Don't really see the appeal, but with his little tooth, CJ loves to chew on everything...even flavorless rock hard toast

4/5/08: This is what it looks like when you're SOOO close to rolling over from your back to your belly

4/6/08: CJ and Daddy! CJ was asleep in this exact position right before I took the pic (I waited too long!)

"CJ and AUDREY, SITTING IN A TREE..."

CJ may look like his mommy (or so everyone tells us), but he definitely takes after his daddy! Bryce has been girl crazy since he was just a toddler. Of course, there's only a few girls he's still crazy about these days - his mom, his sister, and his wife - but unfortunately, our son CJ is just beginning. Our good friends, Levi and Becca Adams, have two beautiful little girls. Abby is three and Audrey just turned one. Now that CJ is a little older, he has gone from just staring at the girls, to now playing with Audrey, as you can see in the pics, and talking and laughing with Abby - she loves to play with him and he can't get enough of her attention! We spent a lot of time with the Adams' this weekend (they got Conference on their tv, so we watched all four sessions at their place) and CJ was in heaven!! As his parents, we just hope this is not a sign of things to come...

You wouldn't know it, but yes, Audrey is 4 mo older than CJ (liking older women...just like his daddy :)

We don't know who made the first move, but neither of them seem to mind

"PUT YOUR TRUST IN GOD..."

I received some bad news yesterday. After going to Utah for Christmas, and spending Spring Break there a few weeks ago, Bryce and I were determined to be there this summer (especially because it would be the last time we would have the chance to live in Utah). Bryce had applied to several internships, some of which we still haven't heard from, and we figured, if worse came to worse, Bryce could get a full-time job and volunteer for a lawyer on the side. The plan was to live with my parents, but regardless, we knew we wanted to be in Utah this summer.

However, when we made these plans, we didn't realize there might be some snafus along the way. The biggest problem: our living arrangements. We had been planning for months to continue to rent our apartment in Spokane and then live with my parents (for free, of course). That meant we wouldn't have to move our stuff twice, but it also meant that renting in Utah was not an option that we could afford. As the time got closer and closer to prepare to go to Utah, we started to realize that our plan might not work out just as we thought, so Bryce and I knew we needed to start to look at some other possibilities and figure things out.

Then, Monday night, after going to Chili's for dinner (our FHE activity ;), Bryce began to tell me about Law Review. Months ago I would have never thought that Bryce would want to do Law Review, but as he told me about his class that day and how someone came and spoke to them about it and how he really wanted to go for it, I could tell by what he was telling me that this was something he really felt like he should do and that it was probably inspiration....so then I felt that feeling too. But then he lowered the bomb: he said he was nervous about leaving Spokane, or rather, the law library and professors at Gonzaga, if he was going to try to get on Law Review. You see, the way it works is a few weeks after final grades come out, the Law Review poses a question or a problem. The applicants then have a couple of weeks to research and submit a 10-15 pg paper regarding the problem. They are then chosen, or not chosen, to be on Law Review based on the papers they submit. Bryce is nervous to leave the law library he's become accustomed to, and his Legal Research and Writing professor who could possibly help him fine tune his paper. So what I was hearing was that he wanted to stay in Spokane for the summer?!!

After Bryce threw that wrench into things, the next morning, which was yesterday, my mom called to tell me that unfortunately, they wouldn't have room available for us at their house until the fall (unless we want to sleep on a futon all summer...which I seriously considered). So there it is, I guess. Our decision is made for us. I tried to hold it together while I was on the phone with my mom, but once I got off I pretty much cried my eyes out. Before we ever left Utah, I knew that we wouldn't end up there. Bryce being from Seattle, and me just always having the desire to live outside the comfort of Utah (for my own growth) meant that most likely, our family would settle elsewhere. But after having a baby, I wanted more than ever to be by my family. And I knew that this summer was our last chance to live by family who mean so much to both of us (not just my family - Bryce has family in Utah as well that he's very close to). So needless to say, my heart broke when I talked to my mom. Very reminiscent of last summer when Bryce got his rejection letter from the U of U law school - my heart broke then as well because I knew we'd be leaving Utah sooner than I was ready.

Anyway, after talking with my mom, I knelt down by my bed and prayed for comfort...and unfortunately, didn't really get anything. A couple of hours later, though, as I was reading my scriptures, I totally felt the Spirit! I don't even know what I was reading, but that's okay because I didn't find comfort in the words, but in the Spirit that accompanies reading the word of God. It was a wonderful experience that helped me not only feel some peace about the upsetting news I had just received, but also gain a stronger testimony of the power of the scriptures.

And then today, Bryce sent me this quote from Pres. Hinckley: "It isn't as bad as you sometimes think it is. It all works out. Don't worry. I say that to myself every morning. It all works out in the end. Put your trust in God, and move forward with faith and confidence in the future. The Lord will not forsake us. He will not forsake us. If we will put our trust in Him, if we will pray to Him, if we will live worthy of His blessings, He will hear our prayers." http://deseretnews.com/article/1,5143,695248205,00.html

Though I love my family and am saddened that I will most likely never live close to them again, I know that Heavenly Father has a plan for my little family and that the Lord's hand is in our lives, leading, guiding, and even pushing us in the direction that He knows is best for us. Now if everyone could just help remind me of this every now and then, that would be wonderful! :)

LOOK AT THOSE ROLLS

Would you believe me if I told you that a couple of

months ago he had even more rolls?