Pictures

Here's some pictures that we got not too long ago. I've been waiting forever for a certain talented, awesome friend take our family pictures. Yes Carrie, I'm talking to you! But unfortunately, cosmic forces are determined to keep us apart so I had to move on.

But through a friend I found April. She is so sweet and super talented!

I love these pictures! So take a gander and the Witbeck crew of 2010!

Friends

While in Portland, we had the great blessing of making some friends who lived just down the road from us. They became our friends in spite of my quiet, shy, awkwardness. Tom and Betsy became people that we could count on if we ever needed them and when Erik was gone for 2 months they became my salvation. Watching the kids when I needed to go out, me borrowing Betsy for the night, etc. Their son Logan is Bryce's age and both our boys loved him. When we told them we were moving, they asked if Logan was coming along. Bryce still asks to walk down the road to see Logan. We miss you Sass family!

Here is a quick message for Logan.

Untitled from Rachel Witbeck on Vimeo.

Holy Cow

When Erik left us behind to start his new job I didn't realize how much things would change. I mean it's a huge change to move from Oregon to Arizona and start all over again and remodel a house and play grown ups and all that stuff but there was an even bigger shock then all that.

Erik met some people while staying with his sister Kirsten. Especially one person in particular. They talked a lot. Erik became very interested in this person's point of view on items. He started reading books from this person and that's when things started changing.

Erik started giving me little hints that things were changing. He was feeling very different about some things. I nodded and said "uh-huh" when appropriate but didn't really think he was serious about any of it.

Little did I know that he was totally serious. He had decided that he wanted to become a.....


VEGETARIAN!!!!

He leaves for 2 months. I finally get my husband back and he's a vegetarian. Now I have to figure out how to cook vegetarian meals that I would actually eat as well. I already hate making dinner now this???? And coming from Oregon, I just view this whole thing as some hippies poisoning my husbands mind. *cyber snort* Tree huggers.

He informed me that becoming a vegetarian had nothing to do with animal cruelty or anything like that (if you know anything about Erik you'll know that he doesn't really care how animals are treated so this wasn't a real shock). He told me it had to do with the way the animals were fed, the chemicals injected into the meat, hormones in the meat, etc.

I have to admit, it was convincing to me. I don't like any of that stuff either but I don't want to be vegetarian. I like meat. I love hamburgers, and pepperoni pizza, and tacos, and shredded beef burritos. It goes on and on. I don't really want to be a vegetarian. But when it comes to eating something I see as harmful or being a veggie head......I'll give in and be a veggie head.

So for months we've been eating rice, beans, pasta, and vegetables. (and so you know a little about me, I don't like vegetables. Yes, I'm like the children and I prefer to not eat veggies. Sue me.) It hasn't been all that bad. Some getting used to but not too bad.

Then Erik comes home from work one day. He's been talking to someone else. Uh-oh. I'm digging in my heels if he wants to be vegan. I've given up meat I'm not giving up all things animal.

But no that's not it. He wants to buy a cow. Well, half a cow. We know what it's fed, no injections of any kind, and no hormones added. Plus it's all lean meat.

I'm so confused. But you know what, we haven't had any meat in the house for months. I'm not going to try and change his mind on this one. I sat there and asked questions about cost and "are you sure you want to do this?" like I should while leaping around in my head with joy. Meat! We can have meat!

So we did it. And this meat is waaaay better than anything bought in a store. I've put in my dues as a vegetarian and have been rewarded!

A stocked freezer brings tears to my eyes.

Tacos are definitely on the menu! :)

The List

We have a lot of things we need to do for this house and this is our checklist:

1. Unpack-check!
2. Paint every single wall in the rainbow house-check!
3. Carpet-check!
4. Install 5 ceiling fans-check!
5. New appliances-check!
6. Organize so we don't have a mess-half check!
7. Paint trim
8. Tile
9. Hardwood floors
10. New countertops
11. New cabinets
12. New furniture in every room (big plans for this one!)
13. Rip out all the left over shrubbery in backyard and buy new
14. Art for walls
15. Potted plants and other filler for the house
16. New bedding on everyone's beds to match the new paint
17. Win the lottery sometime in the very near future

That's about it! Shouldn't be too hard. I'm feeling very optimistic that we can get this house ready in about let's say, oh, in the next 10 years or so!

Maybe I should add "try to convince Erik we need professionals to kill the bugs" in that list somewhere.

Kids These Days....

I want you to look at this picture of words that have "aw" in them. Preston brought this home from school and I believe they were supposed to come up with these words on their own but I'm not sure. But look at the words and see if any of them seem a little....odd.


*I'll give you a hint: The last word seems to be some sort of undergarment for women.*

I'm just going to blame the school system.

The Rainbow House

We currently purchased our first home. Yay! But we have been working like dogs to get this house in livable condition. I took this video the day after we closed. Some may like the colors used and there's nothing wrong with that. I will still love you for your faults! :) These colors were picked out by someone who took care to put them up and probably really enjoyed them. We do not enjoy them. It's a matter of personal taste....and bleeding eyeballs. I seriously can't stand to look at these colors. There are different colors everywhere which is where the kids started calling the house "the rainbow house". Bryce cried when we started painting "the rainbow". I actually like rainbows, just not on my walls.

So here's the video. It's kind of grainy due to my little point and shoot camera I took it on but I think you'll get the general idea. Oh, and one more thing. I was kind of rushing this video because I was really freaked out that there would be bugs and spiders and scorpions at every turn. Sorry about that.

Untitled from Rachel Witbeck on Vimeo.

Love/Hate

I am LOVING living here in AZ....so far. I mean, how many times have you all had to read, or hear, about my extreme distaste for any type of cold weather? Seriously, I was not meant to be in cold weather country. So I was soooo happy to be able to go to the park and meet Erik for lunch at the park in the middle of December! Awesome!

Yes, short sleeves!

She didn't want short-sleeves. Oh well. I mean, it's not like it's super hot this time of year. (Sorry about the picture Erik!)


We even ate under this cute little tree where lovebirds inscribed their initials to show their undying love for one another. Erik wouldn't do it. Whatever.

But you know, not everything is copacetic around here. There has to be some downfall, right? It's to be expected. Maybe something, oh, like THIS!!!!

This little gem was hiding in some debris left behind by the previous owners. Do you know what it is? I had never seen one before this moment.

Okay, it's a freaking black widow! Ewwwww! I want to throw up just looking at the pictures! I HATE this!


Oh but don't worry. There was another one waiting in the debris so it wasn't lonely. The children are no longer allowed to play outside.

So I guess you can't have everything. Sunny with just a few days of rain, no snow EVER, and completely bug and poisonous spider free. We'll see if I start complaining about the heat in the summer!

Christmas '09

Well Christmas has come and gone. Presents were wrapped, new pajamas were distributed, cookies for Santa were made, presents unwrapped, pajamas worn all day, toys put together, toys taken apart, some pouted, and some did weird poses for the camera...and all while the sun shined outside! Here are the wad of pictures of our Christmas adventure this year.



I'm feeling very grateful for this past year. We have had plenty of trials and plenty of good times as well. Even though I kept forgetting it was Christmas time (due to the 70 degree weather!!!) I still felt the Spirit of this time of year. I am grateful for my family. The Lord has blessed me with a husband that I love more than anything and for some strange reason loves me back! He has also blessed me with 3 beautiful, strong-willed, loving children that I can't get enough of! I am grateful for Christ's birth and for the sacrifice he made for me and my family. I am grateful for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. I am grateful for all my family and friends, wherever you may be, for all the support and love that we have been given over the years.

I hope you all have had a merry Christmas and hope you all have a great 2010!

Holy Crap!! It's Christmas Eve!!!!

I'm freaking out just a bit. Where did my time go? It doesn't even seem like Christmas this year and it all has to do with this little beauty....

We moved into our house not even a week ago and it's been nuts! We're so excited to be in but to move in right before Christmas is a wee bit overwhelming so we have this...


which is the current state of the garage. We just threw them all in there so we wouldn't have them out during Christmas. But no, not all of them are empty. And we also have this...


Just a couple of the paint projects we've been working on. The blue has to go. And the yellow hurt my eyes. Our house is a work in progress.


And this is all the kids have done while we've been working.


But the kids finally got to see Santa and Mrs. Claus. Although Makayla was too freaked out to sit on Santa's lap.

Preston asked for a Nintendo DS, a Wii, and video games. (yeah right)
Bryce asked for a toy story DS and a dinosaur mountain.


And we got the tree up.

We've been up to more but this will have to do for now. Merry Christmas!

About Thanksgiving

I don't really enjoy Thanksgiving day food. Seriously. So my idea was to go out to dinner for Thanksgiving. Maybe that's a little unorthodox but I thought why not celebrate pilgrims by not making dinner and having other people make it and bring it to our table? Wouldn't the pilgrims want us to enjoy the comforts that they weren't able to enjoy?

But I was vetoed. And we stayed in and had dinner. And everyone that was involved did an excellent job!

The decor.


Happy, mischievous, and ornery children.


We.


Kirsten.


Gone crazy from pie or something.

Naps taken.


Finally content with pie.

Happy Thanksgiving Everyone!