Does it get much CUTER than this??

Here are some recent shots of my beautiful boy. Enjoy.















Look at those curly locks!















Bathing Beauty
















Um, yes, I have a question.
















Luke's Fortress of DOOM















Just chowing down on some 'naners.

Weekend Fun

This weekend was actually pretty fun! Usually our weekend consists of laundry and organizing Drew's work stuff while he watches football. (LAME). But this weekend was better. On Saturday morning, Mama Pepper and I went to an unofficial Relief Society craft shindig and it was FUN. Mama Pepper signed me up and PAID for me to do all the stuff! She's so awesome! Anyway, we learned how to make a seasonal quiet book, a matchbook advent calendar, gift pails, rice soothing bag thingys, jars of goodies, and the best of all were the paper boxes:














Aren't they CUTE??? And we learned how to make the bow too! I made another one that night so I wouldn't forget but I didn't use as cute of paper, so I'm not going to post that one. Anyway, I had a lot of fun and I met some really sweet girls.

ALSO, Luke went to his first PUMPKIN PATCH!!! He looked so cute next to all the pumpkins! He also wanted to taste them, but that really wasn't an option. After the pumpkin patch, Drew and I found a coupon for a buy one, get one meal deal at a Mexican restaurant so we went there and then came home. But then we got to hang out and just relax, which we don't do nearly enough. That's about it! Oh, and this Sunday was the Primary Program in our ward: Best Sunday of the YEAR. Anyway, here are some sweet pumpkin pics:

How to make curtains for under $40

Well, I did it. I made curtains for my living room. And let me tell you: I was pretty dang proud of myself afterward. SO, how can I do it for $40, you ask? Well, let me tell you.

Fabric: $25 (From JoAnn's AND bought during their Columbus Day sale--half off)

Curtain Rod: $8 (From Ross. Always a great deal)

Thread: $1.something (JoAnn's. I go for the cheap stuff)

Ribbon: $1 (JoAnn's. Once again, 1/2 off)

Sheer fabric: $2 (Ross. Amazing)

And I HAD to make mine a reddish color, since my couch is a weird shade of red, but I believe you can do this for any color combo you need. Now I just need to do this for the rest of my bedrooms.

Nobel Peace Prize? Really?

I have never been a huge supporter of President Obama nor a huge opponent. I respect him as the president of our country and I look to him as the leader of the future for America, at least for the next four years. What I mean to say is, I am pretty impartial to his politics, although I tend to lean to the critical view of Obama. However, this morning when I heard he was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize, the first word that came to my mind was "Why?" Honestly, he was nominated 11 days after he was President. How many changes to international diplomacy could he really have changed in that short amount of time? I'm not against him getting the prestigous award, but this early into the presidency seems a tad silly. Maybe once he got our troops out of Iraq like he said he would or once he really did anything that he said he would, then maybe I would be more likely to say, "Hey, he's president, he's done a lot: he deserves this." He hasn't even had time to implement any of the policies or changes he has spoken about! He's still struggling with his health care policies.

In short, I guess I'm saying I oppose the timing of the award. I know in many peoples' eyes President Obama is a Godsend, but can we say he has done as much as Theodore Roosevelt, Woodrow Wilson, Dr. Martin Luther King, the (14th) Dalai Lama, Ghandi, Mother Teresa, Elie Wiesel, Nelson Mandela, or any of the other outstanding peoples who have done extraordinary things with their lives? Not yet, Oslo, not yet.

The Craft...

Not the creepy movie! I've just been feeling super crafty lately and these are some projects I found on YouTube. One is a composition notebook and the other is a clipboard. Next up: CURTAINS.

Conference Weekend

What a wonderful conference this time through! Isn't it always wonderful, though? I think so. Some of my favorites included: David A. Bednar (More Diligent and Concerned in Our Homes), Kent D. Watson (Temperance), Henry B. Eyring (I'm Trying to be Like Jesus), and Dale G Raglund (Heart Transplants). And as always, I love hearing the prophet address. He is a wonderful man full of love.



Well, the weekend started off a little different than anticipated. I had been planning on taking Drew on a date Friday night and I was really excited to figure out something fun. Well, after taking a walk with my friend Melissa that morning, I came home and had really bad pains in my pelvic region. It hurt so badly that I called and set up a doctor's appointment for that day. Drew had to come home early to take me. After THREE hours at the doctor's office and a sonogram, they found out that I had a ruptured cyst on my ovary and I still have a hemorrhaging cyst on my right ovary. The doctor said it is pretty normal and nothing to really be concerned about (TOO LATE) and that I should just take a week or so to recuperate. Well, that put a slight damper on our date night since I hadn't had time to plan it like I thought I would. So we just went to a Mexican joint called Habanero's and walked around a little strip mall area.

I feel fine now! We hung out at the Pepper's for General Conference and on Sunday there was a family dinner and as usual the Thorpes, Guys, and Sis. Conger came over. It was fun!

Drew at Habanero's. He got a burrito called The Homewrecker. Yes. It was huge.

In between sessions on Saturday we went to the park and Luke loves the swings! He also adores his daddy.


Luke liked the singers. He's a big MoTab fan now.

Cutest Kid EVER

A little traipse down memory lane

I recently cleaned out my old laptop I used in college of all the photos because I want to trash it and I found some amazing photos in it. Then I started feeling nostalgic and I became really obsessed with BYU and sad because I miss my friends. Texas is wonderful, but I really do miss my friends--and I made some of my best friends at BYU. Just to recap:

Liberty: What can I say? We basically became best friends as soon as we met each other. We just had a special bond that I to this day can't really describe. We could make each other cry from laughter and we knew how to make each other mad. But we became almost inseperable (sorry again Chrissy and Bec).

Becca: She's not really my friend, she just followed me around. JUST KIDDING. Becca and I are SUCH good friends. We kind of had a slow start even though we had been in the same ward since we were 10, but once we became friends, there was no turning back. Bec and I have seen each other through lots and lots of crazy random things and you know what? She's pretty dang awesome.

Chrissy: This girl can make me LAUGH. Like really laugh. She had me rolling on the floor (literally) on one of the worst nights of her life (she broke off an engagement). She is one of the sweetest and SMARTEST girls I know. She'll tell you the truth, she'll try to make awkward moments better (most of the time unsuccessfully), she befriends anyone and everyone, AND she was they first person I met at the Colony and I immediately thought, "This is gonna be easy with a roommate this good."

I love you girls!

And now I live with my very bestest friend in the whole world. I love you, Drew.

Birthday Expenditures

I had some birthday money left over and I was contemplating on what to spend it on when one night I was searching the Net and I realized I wanted a new BYU sweatshirt. But then as I looked at all the nifty things the BYU Bookstore had to offer, I decided I wanted to just spend all the rest of my birthday money on BYU paraphernalia. I got a sweatshirt, a T-shirt for Luke, a keychain mabobber, a decal, and a big BYU flag. The flag is for Drew's office area, which I am decorating. More pictures of that later. Anyway, I am loud and proud that I bleed blue! Go Cougs!

Oh so meloncholy...

Well, I have been in California for the past 9 days helping pack my mom in preparation to move to Washington. It was a fun, yet sad experience. I had fun hanging out with Anthony, Natalie, and Berlynn, who came down for Labor day weekend. And then I had fun spending all day with my mom and helping her out. And I had fun with my dad once he flew in. But there were goodbyes and the sadness of knowing you were leaving behind something (Merced) that is familiar and that you have grown to love. I hope that I can make it back every once in a while, but with plane tickets being so expensive, I doubt it will happen very often. I put up lots of pictures on Facebook and wrote about each one, so if you would like to see pictures, go to Facebook. Other than that, I am now waiting very impatiently for Drew to come back from a business trip. I came home from Cali on Monday and Drew left Sunday, the day before. We just missed each other. I can't wait to see him!!!

As for Luke, he now has 2 teeth, can sit up all on his own, and is starting to try to pick things up with his finger and his thumb. It's amazing watching a brain develop. Here's a couple of pictures I didn't put on Facebook:

My grandpa, Luke, and my dad after breakfast on Saturday morning.














Grandma giving Luke a bath.

Kathryn is 23!

Kathryn is 23!!! My wife is now 23 - and not getting any younger. She had a great birthday (probably) and I love her so much. HAPPY BIRTHDAY BABY!!!

Recentness

So...Luke is officially 6 months old! Yay!!! And (drum roll please) he's sleeping through the night! Woohoo! I never thought I would get another full night's sleep but I'm getting it and loving it. He's going to his 6 month check-up at the end of the month, so I don't know how much he weighs but I do know it's a lot. He is quite the talker now and he can scootch backwards and in a circle and he's eating some solids and getting a personality (or an attitude is more like it). Oh, and he LOVES to laugh. Drew makes him laugh a lot when he blows on his tummy but Luke likes playing anything. He plays a mean Monopoly.

Drew is out of town right now for work which is pretty typical. He's gone for 4 days this time and next month he'll be gone for a week. It's all training and conferences and blah blah blah. All I know is that I don't have my husband and I don't like it.

Also, my family is moving! My parents are moving to Aberdeen, WA. My dad was already there working and my mom was going to stay in Merced, CA with my youngest brother so he could finish up his senior year in the town he grew up in, but then Johnny changed his mind and wanted to do his senior year in Washington! So he just flew there this weekend with my dad and my mom is left at home to pack and get the house cleaned and ready to leave. It's sad because now I don't know how often I'll be back to Merced. Boo. My bestest friends are from there. I'll have to work something out.

That's about all the big important news. Oh, I'm getting a new phone. And Drew wants to buy a new TV. That's it.



Luke at 6 months. I forgot to mention that he can almost sit up on his own. He tends to wobble.

Our trip to the East Coast

Movin' On UP!!

So we signed a contract for an apartment a while ago and we set the move-in date for August 1st. The other day we got a call from the apartment people and they said that we could start moving in THIS WEEKEND if we wanted to. I was like...Yeah! This way I can go slowly and Mama Pepper can help me unpack and set things up and help watch Luke. I am really excited to have an apartment again. It'll be fun to have our own space for our little family. Don't get me wrong, we pretty much have our own apartment at the in-laws casa and it's been great, but it's different when you really have your own place. So, after a year of mooching off the in-laws, Drew and I are finally packing our bags and heading for independence. Wish us luck.

4 Month Check-Up

Luke went in today for his 4 month check up. Everything looks good! Luckily, Drew was able to take today off, so he came with me and he held Luke while they gave him 2 shots. I asked when the shots stop and they said at 18 months! That seems forever away! Anyway, Luke's a champ. And so far, very healthy!

Weight: 15.8 pounds
Height: 25.5 inches

Original weight: 6 lbs 15.6 ounces
Height: 19.5 inches

Happy Father's Day and Four Months!!!

Happy Father's Day, Drew! You are the best daddy to our little man. And happy father's day to my own daddy. I love him very, very much.

Also, Luke is four months old! Yay!! He has lots and lots of hair now, he can roll from his belly to his back, he loves to laugh, he's drooling constantly, and he's a joy in our lives!

Luke's Trip to California!!

We just went to California last week to see my little brother graduate. I can't believe Steven is all done with high school and is moved out and is on to college!! It's just so crazy. Anyway, so we flew over to Cali to see that and Luke got to be on his first airplane ride. He actually did okay. Not too fussy and he smiled at all the stewardesses. He was also a big hit with the fam. Everybody loved him! While we were there we took family pictures and ate at In'n'Out and the boys played basketball a million times and we ate lots of junk food. Luke got to meet his great-grandpa Frank and his great-grandma Marion and all his aunts and uncles and lots of his mama's friends. Oh yeah, and Steven graduated!! Yay! We miss everyone but we're so glad we were able to go out and see them all. Well, that's about it. The pictures will show the story:Our growing family!

Jamin, Luke, and Berlynn: The Cousins!!

The whole family

Luke and Grandpa Frank (my dad's dad)

Steven graduated!!! (And sorry for the inapproprate behavior of my brothers. That's how they are.)

Luke and Grandma Marion (my mom's mom)

Summer O' Fun!!

This summer is going to be off da hook! We are leaving in a week to go to California to see my little brother graduate and while we're there we're going to the beach! My brother and sister-in-law and niece live right next to the beach...awesome!! And then in July Drew has to go out to North Carolina for training and me, Luke, and Mama Pepper are going with him! We're going to hang out in North and South Carolina and end our trip with a visit to Myrtle Beach!! I'm so excited for all these fab beach trips! Plus Luke will be able to meet all of Drew's side of the family, so that will be pretty cool, too. Dang, I need to work on my beach bod.


Myrtle Beach and Grover Beach! Aren't they beeeautiful??

Three Months Old!

Luke is three months old today!! He can smile and laugh and gurgle and coo and DEFINITELY scream. He is the apple of both mommy and daddy's eye. We love hanging out with Luke because he can interact with us more now! We love him so so so much.

Luke thinks the little light that flashes on our camera is very interesting.

He thinks I'm so funny sometimes.

He loves to laugh! He's such a doll.

Why do I love Drew Pepper?...

Drew is gone this week for a business trip and I am missing him like CRAZY. I decided to list the reasons (in no particular order) why I love my wonderful husband so that other people understand why he is the BEST husband and friend in the world.

1. He loves me
2. He loves Luke
3. He has a strong testimony of the Gospel
4. He makes me laugh
5. He gives me massages after a rough day
6. He honestly thinks he loves me more (HA)
7. He is the BEST friend I have ever had
8. He watches stupid shows with me (The Bachelor, American Idol)
9. He is the one person I can't wait to talk to at the end of the day
10. He is the most handsome man EVER!

I love my husband!!