Meet Nell

I know I have a lot of catching up to do (i.e. documenting our drive across the country, new house pictures, 4th of July, Abbey's baby blessing, etc. etc.), but before all that I thought I'd introduce you to Nell.

Nic loves her.

I love her.

And most importantly, Mason loves her.

A little too much sometimes.

(Below is Mason pretending to eat grass like Nell. Complete with smacking sounds.)

We think you'll like her too.

Until she bites you with her razor sharp puppy teeth.

We love our Nell Nell.

Alive and well, but a little sleepy

So we made it to Utah. Yes, it has been over a month ago since we arrived. I've been a little occupied as we had to unpack, furnish and decorate our house to our liking, visit family, play with Mason, and of course...get a puppy. We are, for the most part, settled now so I no longer have the excuse to put off the blog. Oh wait. Yes I do. I have a 7 week old puppy who has needs very similar to a newborn (i.e. getting up several times a night to sit on our back step while she goes potty only to put her back in her kennel where she cries and cries because she doesn't like to be alone.) So during this precious time when both Mason and Nell (our puppy) are sleeping, I plan on getting a thing or two done without the help of two little hands and four little paws. I will, however, return next week and post all the pictures from our magnificant adventure across the country. In the meantime, enjoy this little tidbit about Vizslas (which is Nell's breed).

http://animal.discovery.com/videos/dogs-101-vizsla.html

(oh and FYI...she is excellent with Mason. He pretty much mauls her and she loves it.)

Baby Faced

Alright. So I've been told before that I look "young" in contexts such as, "Wow, you're married? You look too young to be married" or "You are my baby's nurse? You look so young." While I might appreciate these comments later in life, right now I find myself wondering if people take me seriously or if everyone thinks I'm some girl who has somehow managed to get a college education, land a job and a husband all before being legally able to vote. Since having Mason I haven't gotten as many of these comments. Probably because people don't want to say anything in case I turned out to indeed be a teenage mom. I was appreciating everyone's silence, that is until last week when that silence was broken. Twice. The first instance took place at a Reading Phillies game. We were there with Nic's co-workers and I was sitting behind Nic letting Mason walk up and down the row of seats. It was obvious that I was with the group (which consisted of people close to my actual age) and it was also obvious that the small child was with me. However, this didn't prevent a young girl, clipboard in hand, approaching me and asking if I was in high school. She was doing a survey of sorts and needed to talk to kids in high school. Okay. So I look like I'm in high school. I guess I can deal with that. It was the second instance that really creeped me out. We have a cute elderly couple who live beneath us and last week while we were visiting them we were reminiscing about when Nic and I moved in a year ago. Frank (our neighbor) was like, "I saw you unloading boxes (motioning to me) and then I saw Nic and I have to tell you, I thought you were his daughter!" Wow, really? Come on now. First of all, thats gross. Second, does everyone who sees us think that? And third, um...gross. So in response to all of this, I'm getting my hair cut tomorrow. Nothing crazy, but maybe it will help. I'm also planning on changing my wardrobe to include festive vests and real light-up earrings. Because really...what teenager wears those? Any other hints or suggestions are welcome. Just don't ask me to start flatulating in public, drinking metamucil or wearing adult diapers because I just won't do it.

I Have a Date with Billy

I've always been a fan of exercising. Not only do I feel better about myself when I do, but I tend to eat better, be in a better mood, etc. etc. I ran track and danced in middle school. Then once I reached high school I began doing stuff like rollerblading, running, attempting (very unsuccessfully) to play tennis, and so forth. It was at this stage of my life that I met billy.

If you don't know Billy you are missing out. Although I forsook him in college for a real kick-boxing class and my beloved spinning classes (oh how I miss those), he made a reappearance (resistance bands in hand) right before I graduated from Penn State. Aside from some outdoor running and a few trips to the gym, Billy and worked together almost nightly until I was feeling great about life and overall was pretty healthy. Then I started working in the NICU. Night-shifts and overtime took its toll and Billy and I grew apart. I still went to the gym on a semi-regular basis, but it just didn't provide me with the same motivation that Billy did. After a few years of this I got pregnant, and although I tried my best to make a daily trip to the gym to use the bike or elliptical, Billy was just a little too "high impact" for my humungo belly to handle. So we broke it off completely. You may be asking yourself, "Well, Mason is almost 15 months old now, why haven't you reconnected with your beloved Billy?" I cannot answer that question. Maybe you should ask the jar full of cookies in my kitchen. I will say, however, that Billy and I have a date. We spent some time together last night, and although I'm feeling a little pain today, I have decided that it is time we see more of each other. I hope to get together with him at least 3-4 times a week, and maybe I can get into a spinning class once we move to SLC. I have to get my body back in shape. I have to be able to run a mile without feeling like I might die. This is necessary, for my sanity as well as those around me. So here I come Billy. If I knew the word that you yell repeatedly during your workouts I would yell it here. But I don't. So I'll just say, "Yipee!"

Bustin' at the Seams

14 month old boy with huge feet meets 18 month PJs with not-so-huge feet.

Our New Home

Here is a virtual tour of our new house. Hopefully it works. You can click on "Slideshow" to see pictures of each room of the house, or you can click on "virtual images" and get a 360 view of the main rooms.

http://tour.circlepix.com/tour.htm?id=710164

The house is in Woods Cross, just northwest of SLC (or west of Bountiful for those of you who know the area). Nic will have a 20-25 min. commute to the hospital which is awesome, and there are several parks and a running trail in our neighborhood, which is good for me. We close a week from tomorrow.

P.S. The front yard needs some landscaping. If anyone has any brilliant ideas I'd love to hear them. Do dogwoods trees grow in Utah? Love those trees!

Marathon of Posts: April

The following two posts are my efforts at catching up on all the blogging I haven't been doing lately. I kind of think its funny that I feel guilty when I fall behind on my blogging. Its like if I don't exercise for a period of time, or I fail to say my prayers at night. I have this nagging feeling that I am not living my life properly. hm... Well, hopefully I'll feel a sense of accomplishment after posting these. And quite honestly, you should feel one too, because if you can actually get through both posts without losing your eyesight or getting having an appendage fall asleep then I say thats something.

So lets get on with it:

April was a big month for us. We sought, found, and purchased a home. Oh yes. The world's worst decision maker helped make the decision to buy a house. I wish I had pictures to post, but alas I do not. We have a virtual tour saved on Nic's computer, so if and when I figure out how to put that on the blog I will. Its a lovely home, with 4 bedrooms and a fenced yard. Our next order of a business is to get a dog to put in that fenced yard. I can't wait!


The week before we house hunted in SLC, Mason and I spent some time in Idaho. We were there for Easter and therefore got to spend some quality family time. Here is the Pierson Easter Egg hunt.

Seth

Mason stole my ice cream cone. Amazingly not a single drop got on any of his (or my) clothing. He practically inhaled the thing.

Mason, Chloe and Carson

I think this picture is funny.

While in Idaho we stayed at my dad and Penni's house. Mason loved wrestling with grandpa.

He even did some chores around the house.

Grandma Pierson gave Mason his very first sucker. He loved it so much he refused to let go of it, even in his sleep he protested me touching it.

Toward the end of the week we got to spend some time up at the cabin. Definately one of my favorite places in the world.

Mason felt very strongly that my dad should be wearing his work gloves at all times. The Queen perched on his forehead was simply an accessory.

Even story time could not take place without the gloves. What a funny boy and a patient Grandpa!

After an awesome week in Idaho, Mason and I met up with Nic in SLC to begin the house hunt. My mom came up from Arizona to help out with Mason, and Nic's dad came down to help us with the hunt. We really appreciate you guys!

With limited transportation, my mom and Mason spent a lot of time in the hotel. My mom was awesome though and spent hours chasing him up and down hallways and though the lobby.

Luckily there was a pool, where we spent a few evenings.

This was the only picture I got of my mom the whole week. (In my defence, Nic and I were gone most of the day.) But here's a huge THANKS to my mom for all her help. She was a full time babysitter and sugar mama. Seriously, we couldn't have done it without her!


And here's a shout out to everyone who helped make our week easier. Thanks to Marci for letting us crash at her house, Lloyd for putting up with us at our worst, and all of our parental units for listening to us worry/complain/worry/get frustrated/worry/and stress. You guys are the best.

It was a stressful, but successful week. Overall the entire the trip was awesome, although its always nice to come home.

Marathon of Posts Part Deux: May

May has always been one of my favorite months. Maybe its because my birthday is May, or maybe its because the weather is finally nice. Regardless, this May has been no exception. We started it out with a trip to Hershey and a playdate with my friend Emily and her daughter Casey, Cathy and her daughter Caitlyn, and Grandma Deb.

We ate cupcakes:

We "shared" toys:

We missed a nap or two:

But despite some tired kids (Note Mason's "I'm going to kill someone unless I get a nap" look), it ended up being a really fun day. I'm sure going to miss these girls!

Then it was Mother's Day. Another fine reason to love the month of May. Amazingly, Nic had the day off, so I was treated to breakfast in bed and nice nap in the afternoon. This was followed by a yummy dinner and some brownies. If everything in my life ended with a huge pan of brownies I would be a very happy girl.

Finally, we celebrated my birthday by taking another trip to Hershey. We visited the hospital and I got to see some of my friends in the NICU. Then we had pizza at my favorite pizza place and I got to go shopping while Nic entertained Mason. At one point I looked down the walkway to the other end of the store and I saw Nic with a huge ball. Then later I looked and saw Nic with a baseball bat. Then even later I saw Mason chasing Nic with said baseball bat. I think they almost had as much fun as I did.

We stopped by the Bear's Den to have a Hershey Puck...yum.

Mason and the Hershey Bear's Mascot.

We couldn't go to Hershey without visiting Chocolate World. When we lived here I use to make Nic take me there on Saturday afternoons. I would say it was for the free chocolate, but we all know that I ended up buying all sorts of candy. Love that place...

...and apparently Mason does too.

On the ride.

So those have been all of our adventures over the last few weeks. In the meantime, we've been spending a lot of time outside either going for a run or playing at the park.

(In the following picture Mason is having a complete conversation with himself while he walks through the field. I imagine his is probably catagorizing the trees by genus and species. That or he is cursing the geese for pooping everywhere. Either way he had something to say about it).

And when we are not at the park, we are home finding ways to entertain ourselves.

The End.