Recent happenings in WV

Jason is now studying biochemistry and nutrition in school. It is kind of nice to have him come home and tell me all the things he has learned about nutrition... it makes me wonder how we don't weigh 300 lbs! We have now started eating salad about every night for dinner (just one minor change because of the class). So only two tests before Christmas break and Utah! Yeah! We are so excited to see our families!

I have been making some Christmas gifts, other crafts, and baking treats the past little while! Also two of my friends here are huge Twilight fans, so last week we watched all three movies in three nights! It was fun to have girls night and eat homemade caramel corn! I never really got into the whole twilight thing, but I guess I will read the books now... hopefully I didn't ruin anything by seeing the movies first! I am not running as much as I would like right now, but I am playing soccer with Jason on an intramural team from the O school. It is a lot of fun! I am also trying this new workout dvd so I can workout at home while watching Zoey. It is a Jillian Michaels dvd... I am not a huge fan of her, but the workout is pretty good!

On to the good stuff... ZOEY! She is SO much fun! Here are a few things she is doing-

• Walking around everywhere
• Getting into everything (toilet paper, dvd's, garbage, books)
• Clapping
• Dancing
• saying hi and waving
• blowing kisses
• Giving hugs
• Screaming to see how loud she can be
• dribbling a ball...My personal favorite!

Things she loves-

• Animals (puppies, kitties, dumbo rats (video will be included), really any animal)
• Books- her fav is Hop on Pop
• Christmas lights
• FOOD of any kind
• Daddy chasing her/throwing her around
• Watching Dora
• Skyping grandparents
• Her bear
• Toy stores and Wal-Mart (Ugh)
• Herself (in mirror or pictures)
• Bathtime
• Walks

That is all I can think of right now, but she is so fun and has such a fun personality!

Thanksgiving at the Gilbert's house! Good food, good friends, good times!

Thanksgiving in Richmond

Jason had to take 5 exams before we could go play in Richmond for the Thanksgiving break! Ugh poor boy! It was all worth it though because he got to go play a really awesome golf course (Tradition at Royal New Kent... just outside of Richmond) while Zoey and I went shopping at a huge outlet mall in Williamsburg. We didn't buy much, but we had fun looking! After about 3 hours we picked Jason up and met our friend Todd for dinner. We went to a really good BBQ place called Buzz and Ned's (seriously one of the best pulled pork sandwiches I have ever had!) The next day we went to Todd and Kayli's house for Thanksgiving dinner. Everything turned out great! A few other friends (Nelson, Taylor, and Ben) met up with us too. Nelson and Ben are going to medical school as well. Nelson at Duke and Ben at University of Virginia. Ironic that all of us high school friends could end up within a few hours of each other. Taylor was just nice enough to fly all the way from Utah to be with us! Anyway Todd and Kayli did a great job with the turkey. The rest of us just contributed the little stuff, but I do have to comment on the pies Nelson and Taylor made... very impressed by the presentation! They looked good, but too bad I am not a huge pie fan! Jason thought they were excellent though! Everyone stayed the night except for Ben and the next morning we all went out for some black friday shopping! Once again not much to show for the shopping excursion, but it was fun anyway! Zoey loved all the attention! Oh we took Zoey to Petsmart again... she loves it! She was especially interested in a nasty looking dumbo rat (of all things Zoey, a rat?!). Jason tried to explain why we should buy the rat for Zoey, but I was having none of that business! I would be the one doing all the dirty work... no thanks. We decided to stop at one more place before we left Richmond... Krispy Kreme of course we needed some fresh, hot, deliciousness to finish off the trip! Everything was great! Unfortunately Jason dropped his credit card in the parking lot and didn't realize until the next morning at home. Good news is that Krispy Kreme has it and Todd and Kayli are going to pick it up for him! What good friends, let us stay at their house, let us eat their food, let our baby slobber all over everything, and pick up after my husband! We will be staying with Kayli one more time in December before we fly out to Utah for Christmas! Wow! We will have stayed with them three times in just over a month... Thanks Guys!

So much has happened since the last time I updated this! Where do I start... well I had a wonderful birthday! I relaxed all morning and then Jason took me to dinner at a fancy resturant in town. After that we had an indoor soccer game (so fun!) and then it was back to our house for cake and ice cream with friends! We have the most amazing friends here! Oh my birthday present was a brand new mac desktop computer! It's amazing! Jason mounted it on the wall and it is now serving as our tv, computer, and radio! I am pretty sure Jason is proud of his purchase... as well he should be, but he is so excited every time he gets home to use the computer!

Three days after my birthday we headed down to Richmond for the 1/2 marathon. We stayed with our friends Todd and Kayli in their beautiful town home! They were also nice enough to let our friends Spencer and Amy stay too! So early saturday morning Amy and I headed off the the 1/2 marathon while the boys stayed behind. They ended up cheering us on around the half way point. It was a beautiful day and the race was fun! I ran better than I thought I would finishing in 1 hour and 48 minutes. I am planning on doing it next year... maybe even the full marathon! After the race we went back to Todd and Kayli's and had lunch and then headed to maymont park. Zoey loved all of the animals there! We had such a good time! We will be heading back to Richmond again for Thanksgiving. It will be a good break for Jason!

Just this past couple of weeks Zoey has started to walk! yay! Everyday she gets better and better at it! She is so smart! She makes us so happy! We love her so much! I can't imagine life without her... I LOVE BEING A MOM!

Before Zoey and I left for Utah we decided to go with some friends to an awesome pumpkin patch. Zoey loved going around to see all the animals with Jason. Then of course we picked out a few pumpkins to take home. We didn't have time to carve them before Zoey and I left so now it's still sitting on our porch uncarved!

Jason had to stay home and study, study, study, while his girls left him for 10 days to go play in Utah! He got some good study in without distraction! He is now taking biochemistry, histology, and microanatomy. He is in a test right this second so lets hope he does well!

Flying to and from Utah with a 9 month old is not easy! She actually did really well, but it was rough on me to keep her entertained on a 3 1/2 hour flight. Not to mention in a tiny space with people all around! It was all worth the hassle to visit our family and friends! We packed a lot of stuff into our 10 day trip! We went to family parties, lots of lunches and dinners, and visited all the grandparents and great grandparents. Oh and we also fit in some Zoey shopping and birthday shopping for me! WOW! Exhausting, but really FUN! We were so Excited to see Jason when we finally got to the Ronoake airport at 11pm! We were very tired from a long travel day. We stayed the night in Ronoake and went to breakfast and shopping the next morning. Right next to the Target was a pet store that we decided to take Zoey to. She loved it! We saw a bunch of birds, fish, kittens, and puppies/dogs! She could have stayed there all day!

Jason finished his anatomy course on Friday and went golfing to celebrate! He played really well...I have always told him, the less he plays the better he gets! His next courses are biochemistry and microanatomy.

Zoey seems to get bigger and bigger everyday! She is wanting to climb now! She loves bath time and so when I turn the water on she goes up to the side of the bath and tries to lift herself in! She has tried to lift herself out of her crib too! I guess that only happened once, but I am really hoping she can't figure that one out! I was finally able to find some shoes that she fits in and leaves on. She looks so cute!

On Tuesday Zoey I went to watch the local high school girls soccer team play. I have been talking to the coaches a little bit about helping out and I finally got to meet them face to face after the game. They are really nice and want me to come to a practice next week. I told them I didn't know how much I could help out because of Zoey, but hopefully I can do more in their off season.

We all went to TOOT today (10/9) which stands for Taste Of Our Town. They shut down the main street in Lewisburg (which is a block from our house!) and all the restaurants and businesses from the community have samples of their food and such. They had all kinds of treats and BBQ. It was SOOOO yummy!

I am getting so excited to come to Utah to see my family! I can't wait for everyone to see how big Zoey is getting!

Jason is doing really well in school. He did pretty well on his last couple of tests and only has one more to complete is anatomy course. I feel very lucky to have him around as much as I do. He is balancing school, study, husband, and dad very well! Zoey loves when he comes home for lunch! She grins so big and crawls as fast as she can to him. He then proceeds to throw her around and tickle her until they are both worn out. Then he goes back to the school until dinner and sometimes goes back one more time to study for the rest of the night. That is a typical day!

Zoey is getting her top teeth now! The only problem is that she grinds her little bottom teeth with her new top ones and every time she does that it makes me cringe! She is such a happy baby! Recently we went to a little park in downtown Lewisburg that has a fountain (like the type at Gateway, but on a way smaller scale) and Zoey loved playing in the water! It was a little play date with three other kids and moms. All of the other kids are about 6 months older than her and it is so funny to watch her interact with them and steal their toys...the little thief! A day or so after her long day at the fountain we drove into Beckley and had a long day of shopping. We bought some fabric to make pillow covers for the couch and a cute family picture frame. She was good the whole time! She loves seeing new things and visiting new places. She has also been trying to stand on her own lately, but can only manage a few seconds at a time. Its amazing how excited Jason and I get from the little things. She stands for a second or two and we are SO pround! We clap and yell...she thinks its great!

I am loving spending so much time with Zoey! She is a lot of fun and makes me so happy! It's funny how things change once you have a baby. I used to be so busy with school and soccer and coaching and now I think the last time I touched a soccer ball was about 2 months ago (it's sad I know). I put all of my energy into being a good mommy and wife! I love it! I do have time for myself and right now that time is being used to train for the 1/2 marathon in November. I am getting really excited for it! It will be my 2nd 1/2 marathon this year and supposedly the Richmond marathon is the nations friendliest marathon. I am also getting really excited to go back to UTAH! I am leaving the 19th of Oct. and staying for 10 days! My awesome sister and brother-in-law made the trip possible with their delta sky miles, otherwise Zoey and I would get to come out. I can't wait for everyone to see Zoey!

Quick overview from WV

Jason just had his white coat ceremony on Saturday. Zoey and I are so proud of him! He is doing such a good job adjusting to med school! It is a lot more studying than Jason is used to. He passed his first exam and has his second one friday. Jason just got called to be an Elders Quorum teacher in our ward. He is such a good teacher, he'll do great!

Zoey just turned 8 months old... time goes by so fast! She is getting so big! She is into everything and so curious. She says mama (i love it) I can't quite tell if she is actually making the connection or just saying it because its the only thing she knows how to say! She has also been making some new funny faces! She scrunches her little forehead and nose and then makes spitting noises! I love her!

I am keeping myself busy trying to keep the house clean, making meals, playing with Zoey and training for the Richmond 1/2 marathon in November. I have been getting up at 5am to go running because it's the only time that works! Its either that or go late at night after Zoey goes to bed and Jason comes home from school. It is hard not having Jason around more, but I have met some amazing people who are so fun and are in my same situation. I actually try really hard not to be a distraction to Jason. I figure I can make it a little easier on him by keeping the house clean and having meals ready for him. I am also serving as a primary teacher in our ward. I have 4 really cute kids in my class. I always seem to get called to the primary... I must have a lot to learn about kids (or patience). I have also been trying to be more creative so I will have to post a few of my projects on soon!