Certificates, Curtains, and Glasses!

I've decided that starting another blog post by apologizing isn't the most creative way to start a post, so I'll just say that there are some great developments happening at the McKinney home.

Hyrum is learning so much, it seems like he was just born yesterday! It's so exciting to watch him grow and learn, but with each exciting milestone, there's a touch of sadness for the months that have slipped through my fingers. Hyrum is one squirmy kid. He loves to roll around and move. He's getting good at straightening out so I can't put him in his car seat. It's funny, I eventually win that game and we go places together. He's started this little high pitched whine that's pretty adorable, but I still attribute the whine to Craig's side. Craig is way whiny. The latest development is that Hyrum is drinking from a bottle! This is a good thing, so at least there's a back up, if I'm unable to feed him myself or if he get's hungry while he's baby sat. It definitely will put me a little at ease if I would need to leave him for a few hours. Anyway, Hyrum is getting bigger, cuter, and more popular. Everyone in the institute is getting to know Hyrum, since I'm over there for a class every day.

I've been up to a lot of things. It's nice to be busy. I've mastered how to make lasagna and Craig LOVES it! That makes me feel good. It's not too hard to please Craig with food, the trick is if I actually like it too. I've also been working on some curtains for our family room. They're almost finished and I'll have to post a picture of them when I'm done. I'm pretty proud of myself. I'm no pro, but I'm not embarrassed by them either. I'm also going to try and get a certification for Water Aerobics teaching by the end of October. I think it's kind of lame that a BS in exercise science isn't good enough for people, but you have to play by there rules if you want a job. What bothers me the most is that they would hire someone without a bachelor's degree that has a certification over one with a BS and experience. What did I go to college for anyway? Oh well, I am glad that I got an education for sure, but little things like that bug me. So alas, I'm forking out the money to get certified. At least my resume will have really cool things on it!

Craig is getting adjusted to the school life now. He's so busy. I love Fridays because We go to the devotional together, then we have a institute class together, and then we go home for lunch before he heads out to work. He's getting sales again which is great. He's just been busy training new recruits and everything. He sure wishes people would be a little nicer to sales guys, but oh well. He got glasses today, and he looks awesome! He has blue frames, and I like them a lot, he's HOT!

That's what's new! we're doing good and we love life, especially when it involves our son's cute laughs on the changing table!

Life is good.

It has been a while since I've posted anything, but we've been really busy moving and getting set up with school and such. It's been a pretty eventful month to say the least. We're moved into a condo now, and it's nice to have things in order finally. I have a nice area for my sewing machine that I'm really excited about. I just need some more fabric. I wish I had a collection of fabric like my mom. That would be nice. Fabric gets pretty spendy sometimes. I made a pretty skirt for Julie's (Criag's sister) wedding, that turned out ok. It's a little tight around my waist but good enough to wear in public. Criag's set with school now. He's staking all of his cabinetry classes, an art history class, and an english class. He's got a lot of papers to write this semester and I think it's pretty demanding for him. Luckily he has a wife who will help with his research and things. He's also looking for a project for his cabinetry class. We're not doing Becky and Robert's entertainment center this semester anymore, so he's open to anyone else who needs some work done as far as that goes. Craig is a busy man. He's been setting up Big Dog Satellite in Utah. He's been promoted to manager and he's been recruiting, interviewing, training, and selling his Dish Network and such. We're putting out a lot of signs around Utah County so keep your eyes open, you might see one!

As for me, I'm taking a couple of institute classes to have a reason to get up with Craig in the mornig. I really like them, and I'm also practicing the piano and playing hymns for my class. It's going pretty well. Thank goodness for simplified version hymn books! I've also been looking around for a little job to keep me busy. I'm hoping to get a job at the dance studio next door to our place. They said that they want to start up a singing and dancing program for the fall, so they'll get back to me. I'll have to check up on that so they don't forget about me. I also am wanting to get certified with AFFA and AEA to teach land and water aerobic classes. I also tried out for Savior of the World. So as soon as all the auditions are over, I'll hopefully get called back to read the part of either the virgin Mary or Mary Magdalene. We'll see. I felt like I had a good audition.

That's the big news and update I guess. Other than that, Craig and I are still in love and happy together. Hyrum is such a good baby, and we're so happy he's a part of our little family. I'm glad I'm a mother and I am ok looking after him all day. He makes me so happy! Life is happy amongst the stresses and worries that happen in the world. We're just glad we found one another and we can go through life together. Life is good.

Utah Bound

Our adventure in Colorado Springs is almost over now, and we almost made it through the summer unnoticed, but somehow... we got asked to speak in church right before we leave on the last Sunday! That's alright though, we'll be ok. It's only 8 minutes to each of us. I can make it through that I think. It's funny that I would rather be asked to sing instead of give a talk. Most people would want it the other way around.

It's been a great Summer, and it's been great for our family to be out on our own for a while. Hyrum as been so fun to watch grow up! Lately he's been really getting into the growling thing more and more. He also has figured out how to pop his lower lip out like a little puppy dog. It's cute, and he smiles more and more! I love it!

We found a new place to stay in Utah when we get back too. We're really excited about it too. It's a 3 bedroom condo! It'll be nice to be out of South Provo and in a different area.

Anyway, that's our life for now. Enjoy our slide show complete with Water World Pictures from yesterday!

Tragedy in the apartment

This is a tale sad to tell. It's a tragic fate of the roll-of-the-dice tale. With the green, yellow, and red monopoly gotlet, one would think that I had nothing to lose, but I was wrong, sorrowfully wrong. Criag, the proud owner of the whimpy purple monopoly and light blue monopoly, and the boardwalk monopoly. Now, with all the houses and hotels being utilized, one would think that if I were going to go out, it would be from landing on boardwalk, but no, it was a tragic tale of the Baltic property and ventor property! Not only would I land on those two every single time, but Craig would land on free parking every time, and somehow skip joyfully through all three of my monopolies! Eventually we no longer had any money in the bank to collect after passing Go. In the end I was praying to land on the "Go to Jail" spot, but to no avail, I became a victum to the $450 on Baltic every time I passed. NOT FAIR! Craig rigged the dice! I know it!

What a Week!

This last week was a busy one, but fun. So fun that we all crashed Sunday afternoon! Debbie came to see us for the week while she scouted at some games in Aurora. It was great to have her here and we did a lot of fun things. We went to the zoo here, where I was flipped off my their gorilla, and then to Mr. Biggs where we went bowling. It was great! I encourage all of you to come and see us! We'll play and make memories! This weekend Craig and I went with our friends Tyler and Kara to Denver to celebrate the fourth of July. Hyrum pretty much missed the whole trip, but I'm sure he had fun sleeping through six flags, bowling, and the fireworks!


And for your viewing pleasure...

Grunts, Smiles, and Aprons

This Is Hyrum in his bouncer. He loves it now that we have batteries for the vibrator.


Ok, so Hyrum's been doing this grunting thing lately. It's so cute. He reminds me of his dad when he starts waking up. He'll stretch and make a big manly grunting sound. It's really funny. This video's an attempt to capture that, but we really didn't catch it. Instead he just gives me this look like he's saying "Mom, what are you talking about?"

Another cute thing that he's starting to do is smile! Just this morning, Craig and I were playing with him and he wouldn't stop grinning. I love being a mother and watching him grow and learn new things. Last night he huffed and puffed like he was laughing. We'll just say he really was. He had a wide grin on last night and laughed. It was probably the cutest thing I've seen him do yet. I'm sure there's much of that to come. He's getting so big! So strong too. He'll stand up with a little help, but not too much. He's a pretty tough kid. Ain't nobody messin' with this big boy!

I've been a busy woman lately, and here is what I have to show for it! It's got a few mistakes, but hey! I'm learning how to sew. For those of you who don't know, I just got the most amazing sewing machine for graduation. A Bernina Activa 220! Oh yeah!



















That's it for now, I'll have to post more pictures soon. I just have to find the camera charger! Eh!

23!

I turned 23 on Sunday! We didn't take any pictures, but it was a great day. Actually, we celebrated on Saturday. Craig took me shopping if you can believe how amazing that would be. I got some clothes, then we had dinner at Olive Garden, and finished off the night at movie theater. We saw Star Trek and it was Awesome! I wasn't disappointed at all, being the Trekie that I am. I guess I'm not a real Trekie, but I like it because I think of my dad and his millions of Star Trek Next Generation videos. I loved watching those with movies with Dad. Good times.

Life for us is going really well. Craig's in a competition with the other sales reps to get a free dinner, so we'll let you know how that turns out. I think Craig's car is going to win becuase my husband ROCKS! Not that I'm biased or anything. I just love him. Hyrum is doing great. I love to hear him snore, watch him as he's completely intoxicated after nursing, and give him baths. He's getting too big too fast. I don't know how much I like that, but I can't do much about it. Here's some cute pictures. He sleeps with his bum up, and it's adorable! And another movie, pretty much the same as all the other videos, but I can't help it, he's my little boy, I love him!

Dave and Busters

We just keep having too much fun in Denver. Yesterday we went to Dave and Busters for a company meeting for Craig. We had dinner and then spent the rest of the evening playing games! It was a cool place; kind of like a Chucky Cheese for adults. We got a lot of tickets playing the Monopoly game.














Then we got a monkey and ring pops for our tickets. They were Grrrrreat!














Check this out. Hyrum and I played the jump rope game! He slept the whole time, it was funny.



And this video is just for fun. Think of it as a bonus video or something!

Day in Denver

This Saturday we got to go to Hard Rock Cafe and to the Colorado Rockies game! It was definitely a fun outing, and we had a great time. Hyrum even let me eat... for a while... then he decided he wanted to eat too. That's ok though, we love him to pieces and he can eat anytime he wants... really... even at 3am in the morning. And trust me, he takes advantage of the "anytime" food offer.

Here are some pictures of the wonderful event, and some extra pictures. We just can't help it. We want to document every minute of this boy's life. He's only going to be this little for a short amount of time. I'll sure miss how little he is when he's three and learning how to use the toilet. Oh boy! For now, we'll just enjoy the here and now.



Anyway, it was so much fun! Hyrum loved all of the sounds during the game, he just wanted to poke out his head and see what all the camotion was about. He's so much fun, and we love being parents. It's crazy to think that's what we really are. In just a few short years, he'll be going to school, then dating, then getting married, then we'll be grandparents?! Maybe, I don't know about that... could that really happen to us? Time really does fly by fast!

Update on Craig: He loves Summer Sales, and he's doing really well. He gets into a lot of homes and makes a lot of sales. His manager says that he's doing extraordinarilly well for his first two weeks. He comes home happy and loves to take on the father role. He's such a good dad and husband, I couldn't be happier.

Tune in next time for videos with Hyrum! You betta believe it!

Video Time!

It's so fun to watch him stretch and move around. It's probably a nice change from being cooped up in Mommy's belly. He must take after his mom with the whole sleeping with the arms above his head thing.


Hyrum is getting so strong! It won't be too long before he's getting into things he shouldn't be getting into.

We're here!

It's been quite the adventure for our family this past couple of weeks. Hyrum had his first plane ride already!

We got to Colorado Springs last Monday and moved in. It turned out to be a 13 hour drive once we got on the road. Hyrum was an angel and slept most of the way, letting us know when it was time to take a break and eat. He's such a good baby. He's very patient with us. I have know where he gets that from! Let's hope it lasts. We LOVE our new apartment. It has two rooms so we have pleanty of room for Hyrum.

We came back to Utah for Gramp's funeral. He past away last week the day before Hyrum's blessing. It was a beautiful service and I'm glad we were able to make it. We were sure grateful that we didn't have to drive though. And of course, Hyrum was a perfect angel for the flight both ways.

Now, were starting our first full week of sales. It's going pretty good, Craig's learning a lot and he get better every day. I'm just glad that he's not hating it. It would help if it would stop raining for sure. Craig got soaked yesterday! He didn't seem to mind too much. I just hope he doesn't get sick!

Here are some cute pictues of our baby that my sister in law took about a week after he was born. She does such a great job! I love it!

The First of Many

Ok, here's the first of many blog posts to come. I decided that if I'm gonna be a full blown homemaker and mother, I need to have a blog to post updates. Plus, I want to document all of the developments of our little family.

Here's the latest:

April 24th, I graduated BYU in Exercise Science. So great to be finished before the baby came!

May 1st at 12:13 AM I gave birth to Hyrum Grant McKinney. He's the sweetest, cutest little boy! Craig and I couldn't be happier. He's such a good little boy. He lets us sleep at night (we'll see how long that lasts)!

Here's what's to come:

May 17th Craig will be blessing Hyrum.

May 18th we'll be moving to Colorado for the summer to continue our adventure. Craig will be selling Dish Network, Direct TV, Quest Phone, Internet, and Security. We're excited and Craig seems to be pretty good at it. Hopefully it's not a miserable summer for him! We feel pretty good about it and are excited to be out on our own for a while.

So those are the big updates. Hopefully I won't be a boring blogger and will come up with interesting things to blog about. We'll see.