Wednesday, October 29, 2008

Girls & Drivers....BEWARE! Eli's Home!


Our nephew Eli finally made it home safely from India. After some confusion in India, as to whether or not they should let him out of the country...Two days later, he made it. We are so glad he is back, and it just feels normal to have him home. Welcome Home Elder Story!

Tuesday, October 21, 2008

Funny Little Dude




"Cleaning Ears"

"Daddy's Shoes"


My Bennett is starting to be such a funny little guy. He loves clomping around in whatever shoes he can get his feet into, even if his own shoes are already on. He loves being a big boy, and being able to take care of himself. He cleans out his own ears, brushes his own teeth, combs his own hair, and helps do whatever else he can. He loves to sweep and swiffer the floor, and loves to get chased by the vacuum. My friend Tammy came over on Friday with her little baby Beckam, and I was a little nervous that B would get jealous of him. He didn't get jealous at all, he just wanted to show that little guy all the stuff he could do. He kept wanting Beckam to "watch him" while he went down the slide, danced, jumped, and ran around. It was really cute, and fun. He is 19 months old today, and I wonder where the time has gone. He is so fun, and we can't love him enough. He still always has either a car or a motorcycle in one of his hands, and has to have a bink and a blank most of the time. I know he is getting big, but he is still my baby.

Thursday, October 2, 2008

Yikes...

Just so you know...
There is a snake in my front yard.

Eli...

I was wishing today that I could chop my hair off, and be done with this whole long hair phase. Then I got thinking...when is Eli coming home? All of the "Story Girls" + Rob and Kent, have been growing our hair out, and have not cut it for what seems like forever. Just to clarify, I have still had a trim every 8 weeks, so it really isn't that bad. So, I was so excited to realize that we only have 20 more days without our Eli. We are so excited for Eli to come home, and all of the reasons have nothing to do with hair cuts....
Here are my top 10 reasons for Eli to come home.
1. Eli has never met Mr. Bennett Race.
2. We get our $Free.99 welder back.
3. We get random visits from Eli late at night wanting to hang out.
4. We have a movie buddy.
5. We have a sand dunes buddy.
6. We may have another free babysitter, pending #1's response.
7. Someone else besides me, who LOVES mashed potatoes.
8. Chuck will have someone else to blame for missing tools, besdies Rob & Jacob.
9. The entertainment of watching Nat & Al share a room again.
10. We have missed him terribly, and can't wait to see him again.
We are so proud of Eli, and the work that he has done in India, but we are so ready for him to come home. The Story's haven't been the same without him. So, E...hurry up and get home, we miss ya!

Monday, September 29, 2008

18 Months!





Our little "B" is now a big 1 & 1/2 year old boy. I can't believe how big he is now. He weighs just about 24 pounds & is 33 inches tall. He is still in the 25% for his weight and is still in the 50% for height. Over the past 18 months he has grown 16 inches and has gained 18 pounds! He now has 14 teeth, and is able to run, climb, and jump! All of which he LOVES to do! He is saying so many words, and is being such a funny little guy! I tried really hard to take some pictures of him, but every time I bust out the camera, all he wants to do is look at the pictures.

Friday, September 5, 2008

Catching Up...

We have been crazy these last few weeks, trying to get back into the swing of things I guess. We went on another trip to St. Anthony over labor day weekend. It was a ton of fun, but I didn't take any pictures. Bennett was a wild little boy self as usual, making the sand dunes a bit difficult for "MOM." He never calls me mama anymore, he just screams...Moooom whenever he needs me. It is pretty cute! He is getting so big, and constantly is learning and exploring. He is really good at his please, thank-you's and love you's. He can tell you what a dog, cat, and a snake say. I need to invest in a video camera so you can see. He loves to kiss me, but still just head butts Rob for his kiss to his daddy. He wants to do everything that Rob does, every time someone drove by us on their bike/quad at the dunes he would say "ride a bike?" He wanted every person to take him on a ride. It was so funny. Rob got my bike all dialed in with the new exhaust, every time someone would come over to check it out, B's would say, "mama bike." He definitely loves anything that has wheels and makes noise. Grandpa Chuck got his sandrail going, and we had a lot of fun riding around in the rail. I can't wait until Rob gets ours done. Maybe before Eli comes home?? With Rob's hair getting so long, I bought him a bandanna to keep it all together while we were riding. Bennett would not leave the store, until I bought him the one with the puppy paws on it. So, here is My B, hanging out my trailer window saying hello and waiving to everyone with his puppy bandanna on.

Wednesday, August 13, 2008

A mean little boy...

Bennett is OBSESSED with the camera ever since I took the pictures of G2. He constantly carries it around, and screeches if I do not show him the pictures every 10 seconds. He can't understand that in order for me to show him the pictures, I need to hold the camera for a minute. So, of course he got mad at me and started crying and being a meanie. I took a picture of his meanie-ness so he could see what a naughty little boy looks like. See for yourself...

Tuesday, August 12, 2008

Cat Sitting...


Our Bennett had a very fun weekend, he got to tend his Uncle Brad's Kitty G2. G2 is a "Jungle Bob," hybrid cat, who is full of wildness! He is so much fun, and Bennett had too much fun playing with him all weekend. G2 was a pretty good sport with the little guy, he even let him take his temperature. G2 couldn't decide where the best place in the house was to sleep. He tried the book case, the counter top, our bed, and in a box full of peanuts. He made quite a mess trying out each spot, but it was fun to have something new and exciting at our place. We also had Taylee over Thursday/Friday. Having two kids, a cat, and a dog was a lot more work than I thought it would be. Bennett is missing his G2 now, and about 10 times a day he goes and gets the camera and brings it to me. He wants to look at the pictures of him with G2. He loves to look at them, point at G2 and bark at him. It was a lot of fun, but now the dude really wants a kitty for his very own. Who is going to tell that little sweet boy...NO!

Thursday, July 31, 2008

Revised Tonsillectomy Update...

Well, I guess my husband wanted to know how much I really loved him. Wednesday he finally started to feel good after a week of laying around doing nothing. He must have over done it just a wee bit while we were chasing Bennett around. I went to go get B some milk, and Rob went into the bathroom. All of the sudden I hear "honey...,"in a desperate, horrified voice. I ran into the bathroom where it appeared that my husband was bleeding to death. The bathroom looked like a murder had occurred in there, and Rob had so much blood coming from his mouth and nose that he couldn't even pause long enough to take a breath. I went into panic mode, I spent so much time researching all the nursing interventions of a post tonsillectomy hemorrhage, however in our little house I didn't have a pair of curved hemostats, a massive pile of 2x2's, or any materials to start an IV. CRAP! Oh, and I had a baby on my hip. So, first things first we need to stop the bleeding, how do you stop the bleeding in some one's throat with no equipment? AHHH! I called our neighbors to see if they could come watch B, and fortunately Chad had logical reasoning intact and called 911 for me. I left Bennett on the floor, grabbed some ice packs and all but strangled Rob to try to get the bleeding to stop. He bled steadily for about 25 minutes before the blood started to clot. We figured he lost about 2.5 liters of blood all together. It really scared me, it was like someone turned a hose on and no one knew where the shut off valve was to turn it off. The ambulance got to our house pretty quickly, and they started an IV and took him to the ER. Once we were there, the bleeding had stopped for the most part. We spent the night in the ER, mostly for observation and fluid. He lost so much blood, that even after what seemed like gallons of NS he was still pretty questionable. The really scary thing is that only of the scabs came off. All that blood from one tiny tonsil scab, I was shocked. Now, I know why adults bleed to death after tonsillectomies. SCARY!!! Anyways, Rob is now doing well again. We got him pretty well hydrated, and his labs are still low, but acceptable. I figure it will take a few days for his body to be back to a state of well being. I am just so glad that he is young and healthy enough for his body to be able to compensate after a hemorrhage that bad. Everyone pray that the other scab does not come off! I have confined Rob to bed rest, and a clear liquid diet. He may hate me for it, but at least he will live to see another day. I just want him to know that I love him very much! And even though he thinks that I am strong enough to make it without him, I really do not want to find out. Rob, I love you, please get well soon! And when I say soon, I mean really soon, this is taking forever and I want my able bodied husband back!

Sunday, July 27, 2008

Tonsillectomy Update

Rob had to have his tonsils removed last Wednesday. So far, he is surviving. For the most part he has been a pretty good patient, which is great, cause I was really worried that he would be super mean and ornery. He can't eat anything solid yet, but he is keeping hydrated with Gatorade and sherbet. I was initially the most worried about pain management, so we have been dosing up with lortab or percocet every four hours on the dot. He can't do a whole lot except sleep, but he hasn't complained once. Must be working! Anyways, he is feeling exhausted but doing great for the most part. Thanks everyone for your concern and support. Get Well Soon Rob!! Love you!

Thursday, July 24, 2008

It's Official...The Dude is walking!

Walking to Daddy!

Walking around in the trailer.

I was about to have a melt down last week, here I was still carrying around a 15 month old, about to be 16 month old. I was so over him not walking!! It wouldn't be so bad, excepting that since he was 10 months we have been thinking any day now. Friday, while we were going to breakfast up in Rexburg, Bennett wanted his daddy. Grams was carrying him, so she put him down and said "OK, go get your daddy." And that little monster walked right over to Rob like it was no big deal. We all started screaming, clapping, and cheering for him. He was so excited, so of course he kept walking and walking. I wouldn't say that he is a full time walker yet, but he is definitely getting the hang of it. He mostly walks, unless he wants to go fast, then he sits down and does the booty scoot. He is such a cute little boy, and we are having so much fun with him. He is also a very good little kisser! He loves to kiss his mama's cheeks, and blows kisses to almost everyone else. He loves to smack his lips together, the sound makes me laugh. He is saying please, and thank you a lot too. He is starting to really imitate everything I do. Today he even ate an entire yogurt with his own spoon, and didn't make too much of a mess. I can't believe that he is getting so big. He is now 32 inches tall, and weighs 22 pounds. He spends his time driving around anything with wheels, and going up and down the stairs as many times as I will let him.

St. Anthony Trip...

The Story Clan

Grandpa & Bennett

Me & Bennett

Hope & Aspen

Morgan & Krista

Chuck & Dixie (The orphange owners)

Bennett & Aspen

We spent this past weekend on a fabulous sand dunes trip with our friends and family. We headed up to Rexburg on Thursday night as soon as I got out of school. It was awesome cause Bennett slept the whole time, and me and Rob just hung out. We met Chuck & Dixie in the Wal-Mart parking lot around 11:00, and just decided to spend the night there. It was so funny to camp at Wal-Mart, the other funny thing was that we were not the only two families who had that same idea. Anyways, we got up on Friday morning and went to breakfast at Frontier Pies. Then we drove over to St. Anthony and got settled in at Desert Oasis. Friday afternoon our friends Derek, Krista, Addy, & Aspen arrived. We were so excited to have them there. Cody, Hope, Morgan, and Jordan arrived later that evening just in time for dinner. We had so much fun playing all day long, and got all sorts of dirty, sandy, and stinky. Saturday night, Brad, Deb, and the girls came up. We were so excited cause Brad brought his sand rail. Sunday was super hot, so no one really wanted to ride that much. Once it cooled off, we all loaded up and went on a big ride over to the lake. It was so much fun being there with everyone. And even though my brand new 4 wheeler wouldn't start, I even had fun riding the scrambled egg. (Scrambler)
Bennett had so much fun playing with all the kids. I have never seen such a dirty child in all of my life. He loved going on "Ranger Rides," riding with Gramp, and especially loved riding with Uncle Brad in the sand rail. He is definitely a little motor head. Rob LOVES his new bike, and was so excited that Derek finally came up with him. I didn't do too much riding since my 4 wheeler was being dumb, but I had tons of fun just hanging out. We had the most delicious meals, and had an awesome camp fire each night complete with smores. We did not want to come home, but sure enjoyed our time there with everyone.

Thursday, July 10, 2008

My Life...

I was just thinking today of my life, and how it is so different now that I am a mama to a RACER. I never imagined that my life would revolve around motorcycles, trucks, and cars. But, this is what we do... drive around trucks all day while making motor noises. Don't mind the motorcycle pajamas, and the 4 other vehicles that have already been run out of fuel.




Wednesday, July 9, 2008

Happy 4th O' July!!

Happy Birthday to Libby, our 4th of July doggie.


Fireworks @ Huntsville Park!!


Bennett enjoying Libby's birthday cake...

We had a very fun 4th of July holiday weekend. We took our trailer up to Rob's parents and camped out on their lawn for a few days. It was so much fun to be there all weekend long with our family. We spent the 4th, playing in the water, having a BBQ, and of course watching the fireworks. Bennett LOVED the fireworks, and was trying really hard to get them. He kept reaching for the sky, and waving to them. It was so nice to be up in the Valley, where both of our families are. Saturday and Sunday were spent hanging out, riding, the track, and of course eating....
We really missed the girls coming up for the 4th. Between Jo's new house, and Deli working, it just wasn't happening this year. Hopefully next year!! Thanks again to all of our family, we love you all, and love spending time with you.
P.S. I have no idea, what happened to the pictures on this post, but I have a test I need to study for, so I am not going to fix it. Sorry!

Monday, June 30, 2008

Family Portrait

Jen & Stace had these cute families on their blog, so I thought I would make us a cute one to. So we have Rob who loves to golf and has decided to join all of us girls in our quest to not cut our hair until Eli comes home. Then we have me, who is getting so close to being done with nursing school, and hasn't cut my hair since Eli left 21 months agos. Then we have our little B who is just trying to grow some more of that white hair. And of course our Tyker Boo, who is just the best little puppy ever! So, here we are...

The Story's

Pyzam Family Sticker Toy
Create your own family sticker graphic at pYzam.com

Thursday, June 26, 2008

Baby Day!

Two of my very best friends had babies today! It must have been something in the water, cause they were both scheduled for inductions later this week. Tammy was supposed to be induced tomorrow, at an awesome 41 weeks gestation. Luckily she went into labor on her own, and had a cute fat little boy this evening at 6:53. Beckam Austin Rees weighed 9 pounds 1 ounce and was 21.5 inches long. Tam is the woman, she pushed that big boy out with no problems and no epis. She is amazing!! Congratulations to Tammy & Derek, I am so excited for you both! Roxy & Jeff also welcomed their second baby girl Jaycee Nicole Barlow into their family this morning at 7:44. She weighed 7 pounds 7 ounces and was 20 inches. Their little girl Kyree who is 2.5 is very excited for her little sister to finally be here. Congratulations to you both, and I hope everything goes well. I will post pictures of the little munchkins just as soon as I get to see them tomorrow. Happy Babies!!!

Tuesday, June 24, 2008

Helmet Hair, Wait...No, Helmet Thumb

My B has been running around for two days with this little helmet on his thumb. It goes to his Travis Pastrana rider, but it fits so perfect on that little thumb. He takes it off every couple of minutes, but then puts it right back on. He has been eating with it, playing, and even got in the tub with it on. I just thought it was so cute and funny that I had to share...

Catching up...

Since I haven't posted for forever I thought I better show pictures of my boy so everyone can see how he is doing. He is 15 months old now, and he is so much fun. He is getting to be a wild child! He loves you to chase him and get him, and he loves to get into everything and make messes. He loves to go to Gram & Gramps where there are dogs, cats, swings, and bikes.




Fathers Day!

Grandpa Chuck

Bennett & Rob driving the Fire Engine

Kate & Bennett

Happy Fathers Day to Rob, Chuck, Dad, Brad, Ryan, Kent,Dustin,and Gramps. I realize that Fathers Day was a week and a half ago, but I am about a week and a half behind in everything in my life right now. So, just wanted to say thanks to the dads and that I love them. We had a nice Fathers Day, and amazingly we got to see all the dads. Bennett gave Rob a gift card to iFly, and a Tapout T shirt. We also got Grandpa Chuck a Tapout shirt to sport while we are watching my "honey" Rich Franklin beat up and the mean guys. We gave my dad a Home Depot gift card, he was super excited! He loves that place. Anyways, we just hung out at our house and then went and saw my dad at the Fire Station. Bennett was so excited to drive the fire engine, and play ping pong. We had dinner with the Story's, but Chuck wasn't doing to well. He forgot for a minute that he was 70, and decided to ride one of the pit bikes on the track. Yeah....Crash! So, a broken rib and a really big bruise later he is finally feeling okay now. Anyways, just wanted to say to Rob that I love you, and I appreciate all that you do for me & Bennett. Not to many Daddy's do what you do, and I know that it is tough, but you and B will be so close forever because of it. I love you!

Thursday, June 12, 2008

Midnight BBQ

Happy Birthday Justin!!



Riley & Kelly


Tara, Bennett, & Justin

Saturday night we were golfing with Mitch & Tara when we decided we better do something for Justin's birthday. So at about nine we called up a few people and got a BBQ together. We ate around 11:00, but technically we are still good friends because we still had an hour left of Justin's birthday.

Thursday, June 5, 2008

My Grams...

"Dougie" & "Benny & the jets"

Grandma Allen & Bennett
I love this picture cause you can see my grams cute little old house.

Today was a tough day for my family and my Grandma Allen. She is rounding the corner to 86 years old and it is really starting to take it's toll on her. After a few falls, episodes of dementia, and a past stroke it was time to have full-time care for her. We took her this morning to the care center. I had a really hard time leaving her there all by herself. It is just so hard for me to believe that my grams might not ever be home again. I grew up next door to my grams for 20 years, and then even lived with her briefly after my mom died. Although our 60 year age difference sometimes got the best of us, we still had a good time. I love my Grams, and I hope that she will do well at the care center. She was so excited that "her baby" came with her. She loves Bennett to death, and he really lightened the mood for all of us. I hope that this is the best choice for her and my dad. It is a tough chore to be in charge of the care of someone else, as all of us know. I just hope that everything goes well. My grams is so cute, and she loves everyone so much.
Love you Grams...

Tuesday, June 3, 2008

Tam's Baby Shower...

Two pregnant girlies...Tam & Jen

Kate & Tammy

Just about ready...

Cutest Belly!


One of my very best friends is getting ready to have her very first baby! She is about the cutest pregnant lady I have ever seen, so I thought I better share how cute she is with all of you. We had an awesome shower for her on Saturday at her new beautiful house. Baby boy should be here by June 28Th. We had a really good turn out and she got a lot of things that she will definitely put to good use once the dude gets here.
Tammy will be such a good mother, and I am so excited for her new endeavor. Can't wait until he gets here...

Wednesday, May 28, 2008

Motorcycle Mania...


Bennett & Rob ready to roll...

Monday, May 26, 2008

Sand Dunes...


We survived our first family trip to the sand dunes. I was a little nervous taking our Bennett, but he loved it! He had so much fun, and didn't stop making motor noises for three days. We were so excited to take our new toy hauler out on her maiden voyage. She did great and it was so nice to have our very own trailer to hang out in. Our friends Kasey & Jenny came with us, they were so fun and helped out so much with the B-diddy. Thanks a million guys! We were planning on leaving at 10:00 on Friday morning, but in "Story Time" that means 3:00. We got up to Rexburg in the early evening to have dinner and stop in to Rexburg Motorsports to make sure we were good to go. We finally got to Sand Hills about 8:00 and got camp set up and hung out for a bit before bed time. Saturday and Sunday were both so much fun. We spent our days riding, and our evenings around the camp fire. When we got up this morning our plan was to go on one last ride. However, the rain came in and we decided to head out a little early. We had such a fun time, and were so glad that we got to get so much riding in, even with our little dude. He had a blast! When we got home, all he wanted to do was ride his 4-wheeler around the yard. He refused to get off, and screamed any time we tried to get him off. I think that his middle name is definitely going to fit him. He is our little Racer for sure. I just want to say "Thanks again," to Kasey & Jen, and also to Rob. You guys were so much fun and so helpful. And to my honey, I love you so much, thanks for working so hard so that we can do fun stuff together. I hope there are many more Story Family Sand Dunes Trips to come...

Monday, May 19, 2008

Two New Teeth


I was brushing little dude's teeth tonight and noticed that he had two more teeth that just broke through. He has two in on the bottom, and the two new ones are on either side of those. He now has 4 on bottom, and 4 on top. He is so funny when he gets teeth in. The first two on the bottom came in the same day, then he got the four top teeth in one day, and now two more in one day. I guess he knows that it drives me crazy when things are uneven. Anyways, he is a cute little angel and I love him so much!!