Poor BYU

I know I haven't blogged in almost a year but I realized today how grateful I am that I am not a BYU fan!!!!! That's right, BYU stinks and always will. Last year we blew their socks off, this year they barely scraped by, and next year they will eat dirt again. Way to go Max Hall! It's your senior year and you still stunk it up. You really went out with a bang! Also, that was real classy to say that you hated the U of U, the program, the fans and everything about them and call them classless! Hmmm....was I the only one who thought that was an oxymoron. Guess what...we don't really care what you think!!! Gotta love those Cougs! I would rather be a losing Utah Ute any day over being a self-righteous, winning BYU fan. Any way you look at it, you lose being a BYU fan. Love the school but those Cougar fans...well, I'm embarrased for you.

Christmas Day! ( I know it was a month ago)

This is our little Livvy Bear.

They really do love each other

Luke got an Old McDonald tractor for Christmas

Jordan and his 2 little tots

Me and sweet little Olivia (that is her Christmas outfit from her Grandma)

Go Utes!

The game was awesome! Did you see it? The Utes looked amazing out there! They totally dominated the game the whole time. America didn't think we had a chance but we tore the "tide" up. Those southern teams are good but they just can't hang with the UTES!!! I would say that we looked like National Champs after that 31 to 17 WIN!

Kriser Grandparents in Town!

Luke and Olivia with their Florida grandparents and me.

My parents came to visit from Florida and got to stay for Olivia's blessing.

Jordan's mom and grandma with Olivia

Olivia on her blessing day in the dress that I made for her in college.

My parents came to Utah in November and it was so great just to sit and talk with them. They are the best parents and I was so glad that they got to stay for Olivia's blessing. She will probably be the only baby in our family that my parents get to see blessed. I'll always treasure it.

A Tribute to my Birdy

My handsome church boy.

Luke and his friend Bentlee on Halloween night.

Luke, Jordan, & Great Granny at trunk or treat (I ate all of the candy of course).

Nothing as cute as your own child.

He loves to play with the shampoo and conditioner bottles.

My little Luke is growing up as well. He has such a personality. He loves to bob his head up and down when any music starts up ( it can even be me singing), he's good at giving high fives and poundin' it, he still loves peek-a-boo or for someone to chase him, he is a people-watcher and he also has the biggest heart that just melts Jordan and I. Sometimes I'm amazed at how sweet he is. We love how he randomly comes up to us throughout the day and gives us a hug. He seems to know when to give hugs and kisses at just the right time (when people need it). At church, he sometimes just lightly puts his hand on strangers backs or arms as if he is comforting them. It is precious. Luke and I used to have this sweet dog whimper that we did. If he would whimper then that meant he wanted a hug and I would lean in and give him a hug ( he often did it when I was feeding him in his seat) and then if I made the whimper he would come give me a hug. It was the best. He did it again today but that was the first time in a while. I miss it. Oh, he does yell really loud, throw toys, and do the opposite of what I say sometimes too (just so you don't think everythings always peachy and your children aren't normal).

Olivia is growing up

Olivia is 6 weeks old here and happy, as you can tell.

3 weeks old.

Shorter than a couch cushion, in case you were wondering.

I don't know why this picture flipped but I didn't know how to redo it.

She is 10 days old here and snug as a bug in a rug.

My little Olivia is already 6 weeks old! She is getting so much bigger. She already has a double chin now! She is such a sweetheart and loves to give us lots of smiles in the morning.

OLIVIA JANE ARAVE

October 7, 2008

8:31 am

6 pounds 11 ounces

20 inches

Our little Olivia is here and she is ever so sweet. It is wonderful to have a tiny little baby in our home again. I love to just look at her and hold her. She has the cutest little cry and she already likes to keep us up at night. I think she has the day/night confusion thing going. So I gotta say that this was the best labor and delivery ever. I started contractions at about midnight but they weren't too bad so I just slept through most of them. Then at about 6:30 am I got up and started finishing packing my hospital bag and making sure the cameras and everything were ready to go. My contractions weren't super consistent but I knew they seemed to be coming a lot so at about 6:50 am I called my nurse/midwife and he didn't know if he should just see me at the office in an hour or if I should just head to McKay Dee hospital. We decided to meet at the hospital so I took a quick shower, we gathered our things and we left. I didn't know how far along I was but I didn't think it could be too far since the contractions didn't hurt as bad as they did with Luke. Well, when I got to the hospital they were getting a little more intense but when they checked me they said I was at 7.5-8 cm! I was so glad and felt like, once again, since I was that far along, that I could finish it natural and I did. Jordan was so sweet and just kept wiping my forehead with a cool cloth (exactly what I wanted). An hour later Olivia came and there were no complications and her head was perfectly round and she was all healthy! What more could we ask for? We felt so grateful that this was the case since things were a little scarier with Luke. These little lives truly are miracles. Luke likes to give Olivia kisses and poke at her head, eyes, and nose when he gets an occasional break from running around. Thankfully Jordan's mom has been watching Luke and is letting us stay with her. She is definitely a lifesaver! Life is very sweet and good. We are so thankful for our new little angel and Jordan just loves his little girl.

UTES BIG WIN!!!

I know it's late but I had to celebrate some more because the Utes just pulled off an amazing win against the Oregon Beavers. This was one of those games where you feel sorry for the people that left the game early because the ending was awesome! Towards the end of the game it was really looking like the Utah Utes weren't gonna win the game but they pulled it out by the end and the final score was 28-31. I was jumping up and down and we were yelling a ton. Then, believe it or not, we went down on the field and I had the baby! Okay, just kidding but it did feel like I could've on the long walk home. I guess she's just not ready yet but when I went to the dr. last Friday he said that she was way down there, that I'm 2 cm, & 70-80% effaced. All of that means I am good to go and could definitely have her anytime. Yikes! I am certainly filled with butterflies but only because I remember, all to well, the pain from last time. That's what I'm certainly not ready for. I know that when I'm actually in labor that I will want to send her back but then it's just too late. Her sweet face and nose and toes will definitely make it all worth it.

Our latest update

Recently we have got to do some fun things. For a couple of days I got to go to Rexburg, ID with my sister, Jane, and her daughter, Madison, and our niece, Jessica. We went to help Madison and Jessica get everything moved in to their new apartment and to decorate their room, and just feel like we were back at college again. We had fun going to Walmart, staying up 'til midnight and just feeling free (I got to go all by myself while Jordan and his mom watched Luke!). It was good times hanging out with my sis and nieces.The other night Jordan, Luke & I went up Millcreek Canyon with our friends Suzanne, Christian, & Benton. We made tinfoil dinners, let the little ones explore, listened to some good guitar music by Christian, and ate yummy roasted marshmallows. It was a great night and it felt good to get out and enjoy the mountains.I got to go out on the town the other night with Jordan's mom and friend to see Lady Antebellum at the Utah State Fair. They were great in concert and we had a good time dancing.

Jordan, his brother, Colten, his cousin, Seth, & Luke started a rock band too and they were awesome in concert!

Saturday night we went to the Gateway and watched the fountains with the music and just strolled around. We did go to Old Navy and tried this monkey costume on Luke. He looked so stinkin' cute in it that we had to get it.

Two weeks left!!!

Time really flies by and I can't believe that it is now less than 2 weeks before our little girl is here. I don't really feel ready but I probably never will because all of the things that I need to do are never done. I still feel great and love to feel her little feet stick out.

Who wants this tag?

This is a horrible tag, but oh well. This is a "real life picture" tag and as you can see I have hid nothing.

The Rules: The rules are you have to take ten pictures of the following things. And you have to do it RIGHT AWAY. No straightening, cleaning or wiping your child's nose. No Cheating.

1. refrigeratorNot too much to look at

2. closet

We store tons in the closet

3. pantry

It's pretty small and unorganized

4. favorite room

Our bedroom in the living room and no, we didn't make the bed before church

5. laundry room

Let's see...Oh, yeah, we don't have a laundry room, unfortunately

6. self portrait

Au Naturelle...like always

7. bathroom

It's a pretty tiny bathroom

8. what are your kids doing right now?

Taking a nap of course, otherwise I wouldn't be doing this

9. the kitchen sink

Dang it! Why couldn't I have had the dishes done

10. favorite pair of shoes

I actually like lots of my shoes but the one's I'm wearing now are pretty stinkin' comfy and the easiest to take a picture of at the time

Okay, I'm all done. Thank goodness. I even took some of the pictures more than once to try to make them look better somehow. Now I get to tag some others so I tag Chelsi, Suzanne, Jen, and Joanna.

Some days I tend to forget how sweet and precious the lives around me are until I realize that they could be taken in an instant. I had some concerns for the little girl inside my belly today but now realize that she is just fine. I wondered why I hadn't included her in my prayers more and now I want to make sure that I do every day and throughout the day. I love her and we are excited to have her in our home soon. I only have about 5 weeks to go and I am a little nervous about the labor (I get butterflies when I think about it) but I made it through it last time and I know that I can do it again, especially since so many women all over the world have. I am excited to hold her and see her face

Our summer

We have had a wonderful summer! It all started out with Easter in San Diego, CA. We got to visit the San Diego zoo and Luke hunted for Easter eggs on the hotel lawn. La Jolla beach was definitely our favorite part.

At the beginning of May, Jordan graduated from the University of Utah! Yea! He got his bachelor's degree in finance and we were so glad for him to be done with school, at least we think he is but I guess you never know.

Luke's birthday was on May 12th and he turned 1. We kept the party small and he got some refrigerator magnets, a book, a bathtub toy, the long rectangular box with pop-up animals, and a light n sound key.

Two days later, we flew down south and visited several places since my family lives there. We got to stay with 3 different sisters, a brother and my parents and got to see Atlanta, GA, Jacksonville and Palatka, FL, Bonifay, FL (my hometown), and Dothan, AL. We basically played the whole time. Jordan got to go hog hunting, snake hunting, fishing with a bow, and got to see lots of alligators. We went to Seaside beach, Landon and Jessica's graduation, ate at Buckhead Diner, Wafflehouse, Shades (a restaurant at the beach that Jordan and I used to work at together before we got married), played on the slip n slide, had a Memorial Day celebration, and just sat around and hung out with family on the farm. It's always great to be with family.

Three days after we got home, June 3rd, we moved to Salt Lake City and we are still living here. We are enjoying our time in the city as we are only a few blocks away from Liberty Park, Trolley Square and several trendy shops and restaurants. We live in the top of an old house, with creaky wood floors, a clawfoot bathtub, and a little balcony. Sometimes it feels a little cramped since it is only 1 bedroom but it works for now. Actually, it is just the experience we always wanted. (Seriously!)

It seems like there are always things to do in SLC. We love to go walk around Liberty or Sugar house Park, we've been to the Gallivan center a couple of times for live music and a culture night, we've visited Heritage Park with all of the pioneer cabins, homes, schools, etc., I've hiked the Memory Grove trail a couple of times, and we keep planning to go to the farmer's market one of these Saturday mornings.

At the end of June, we went to Jordan's family reunion in Rupert, ID. We always look forward to going to it since it is at his mom's cousin's ranch on the Snake River and there's fun things to do. We went kayaking, rode on the boat, ate good food, did some karaoke, and even got to sleep in a covered wagon!

For the 4th of July, we went to Grouse Creek, a teeny town about 3.5 hours away, that Jordan used to go to when he was little with his cousins and hunt. It's a place that brings back fond memories for him. They had a rodeo, a small parade with candy!, kiddie games and a program. We really enjoyed it and hope to go again.

This past weekend, Jordan, Luke and I went up to a home in Mountain Green with Jordan's mom and brother and it was so nice and enjoyable. There was a little creek behind the house where we just sat and talked and let Luke throw lots of rocks into. Sometimes it's just nice to be outside with nature. Luke stayed with Jordan's mom overnight on Sunday and she watched him so that we could go to a day of Education Week at BYU yesterday. This was my anniversary gift and it was wonderful. It was a very sweet day, quite romantic, I thought. We held hands and joked around and just appreciated each other more. A few of the classes were just excellent and something that will really help us to grow closer together.

The summer has been great and it's not even over yet!