TEAM PARKER DOWN 24 POUNDS!

Craig and I have both had a not-so-good week with no motivation to exercise on top of wanting to cheat on our diets! We kinda splurged a couple times this week and also was so busy everyday with something in the evening. We always "weigh in" on Friday mornings and last night we decided since it was a bad week we skip it. This morning came, Craig was at work and I decided maybe I would get on the scale to push me to get this "slum" feeling gone. I pulled out the scale got on and about freaked. I've lost 9 pounds! Craig got home from work and he told me he cheated too and weighed himself and also lost weight this week. He now has lost 15 pounds! We're both 5 pounds away from our goal, but I'm going to keep at it for a while. Once those last 5 baby pounds come off my new goal will be to get those "wedding" pounds off. What a struggle we have to go through! But it's totally worth it in the end. We're healthier and also teaching Jaycee to eat healthy too. I'm glad we decided to tackle this goal although I know I couldn't do it without Craig. He's awesome!

The Way Mainers Do It

Izzy's sad face before we left for the day

Dock Dogs at Union Fair




This dog was Tryton...when we walked up we just HAD to go talk to his owner. He looked just like Izzy and had to be a Chessie. You don't see many around. He had longer, curlier hair but def could tell they are in the same family. He did an AWESOME jump. We think Izzy would do good at this event, and might even look into it a bit.


NO CARNY FOOD...I REFUSE...The selection of food at fairs is HORRIBLE! Luckily, we found an ATM and some DECENT food. Jaycee loved the bowl of fries, or maybe she loved the ketchup more. Shhh,...don't tell Bob & Jillian!


Jaycee's little innocent face


She thought it was fun to clap for the cars when they drove into the rink


She also loved counting down until they fired up and....CRASH!


Close up family pic...Thanks Craig for another great pose :)


Demolition Derby


Demo Derby in Maine...oh, yeah!


Smile Craig


All done and ready to say buh-bye until next time

Girl's Camp Tonight @ Camp Roosevelt-Fireside with Pres Vanadestine
Smores with the girlies
Union State Fair tomorrow including Dock Dogs & Demolition Derby
Spending the whole day with Craig and Jaycee!
Sunday-church with Craig teaching Sunday School and don't have to give a lesson!

BRING ON THE WEEKEND!

Some Good, Some Bad...

What an eventful weekend on both sides of the U.S.A.

Out here in Maine we had such a fun weekend! On Friday we chill-axed when Craig got off work with a yummy dinner and I had to prepare a talk. We decided to "cheat" on our diet since we did good last week and Craig headed to Big Bill's for some ice cream---I got a Strawberry Butterfinger. It was super tasty-I don't lie!
I have been going with the missionaries every week to teach Brother Brown. He got baptized on Saturday and it was AWESOME! I got the opportunity to give a 5 minute talk on baptism, played the organ for the meeting, and Craig gave the opening prayer. I was bummed I forgot my camera to get a pic of Brother Brown, Sister Hatch (my new bud), and Sister Watterson. I'll get a pic before they get transferred, which will be a sad day cuz I LOVE SISTER HATCH! Sunday I had to give my first lesson in YW which was on PROCREATION! I was super nervous because the lesson talked about the law of chastity and procreation. What a tough lesson to break-in a new counselor. It ended up going over so well, and of course I cried when I bore my testimony. We ended Sunday with our friends the Berg's. They came over so Dale (their little boy) can get more comfortable with Jaycee and our house. Katherine is due in October and Dale will be staying with us for a couple days. They treated us with lasagna. We played a fun game of Catan and had some good talks :) All-in-all a great Weekend! Jaycee did wake up Saturday morning with a fever and a cold so she's had a rough couple days, but she's still smiling through it all. We have the best baby ever!

Back in Utah it wasn't a so-good weekend. Craig's brother Kenny got hit the eye with a raquetball and is down for a couple days and has to be SUPER careful so he doesn't injure his eye. We couldn't believe the news! We hope he recovers soon and back to normal. THEN.... I got a phone call from Aimes who told me my mom got in another ATV accident. She blacked out sometime during it all and can't remember what happened. She ended up breaking some ribs and in the hospital, but I'm positive she'll recover well and hopefully soon! I feel so helpless being out here and not being able to help either of our families in a hard time. Our prayers are with both of them! That's prob one of the worst things about not living close to our families is that in time of need we aren't able to help. My heart aches for both of them.

I forgot to add a P.S. to my last post so I'll just do that...

PS>I got sustained and set apart on Sunday to my new calling....YW 2nd Counselor. I can't tell you how excited I am. I will be over the Beehives and even get to teach on Sunday. There aren't a lot of girls in the Branch, but it'll be fun with the ones that we do have :) Tuesday night is mutual night so we'll be going up to the church for the activity tonight! YAHOO! It's crazy how the Lord works, but I truly feel this is the calling I'm supposed to have. Especially when Sister Holmes (YW Pres) told me how she got my name to give me the call. THE CHURCH IS TRUE!

3:00 on the dot...

Everyday @ 3:00 the mailman comes and I always know because Izzy freaks out! He's so nice to not care and I say Sorry every time. Friday he dropped off junk mail along with a package from GRANDMA PARKER! Jaycee and I were so excited. Inside was an adorable, little one piece outfit, a sundress with 2 shirts to match and 2 books. Jaycee loves books! One of them was REALLY nice so she can't play with that one except when mommy and daddy help her. The frog one she is obsessed with and plays with everyday. THANK YOU GRANDMA PARKER for the package! The clothes are sooooo cute! You always have incredible taste and we got so many compliments. Here are some pics of Jaycee in her new clothes.




I had a full pic of her outfit and on accident deleted it. I have the cutest brown & purple shoes she wore to match, but those came off pretty fast since she can hardly walk in them. I loved the outfit. She wore it Friday to dinner and Saturday to our friend's party.

Craig picked out the blue shirt to go with it. We'll do the pink one next time.



Her new hair-do that Kel taught me how to do. It's a little messed up considering she wore it all day long, but you get the idea :)






Also the mailman dropped off a package today from Aunt Sheri of all our family pictures. We are so excited! Thanks Sheri for all the pics and CD.

Temple

On Saturday Craig and I got the opportunity to go to the temple. We haven't been for so long, and now we have to drive 3 1/2 hours instead of 10 minutes! Thank you Dathan and Kel for hosting us again this weekend and for watching Jaycee so we could go attend the temple. Our branch had the baptismal font from 12-2 and we took full advantage. It was so nice to be in the temple and especially do baptisms with the branch and young women.... :) hint, hint on my new calling!



Gordon B. Hinkley:
"I would hope that we might go to the house of the Lord a little more frequently. . . . In this noisy, bustling, competitive world, what a privilege it is to have a sacred house where we may experience the sanctifying influence of the Spirit of the Lord."

What a blessing the temple is and how lucky we are to have the temple here to go and ponder!

Pediatrician

Jaycee had her 15 month check-up today. It was a bad experience for me, but the doctor was really neato! The office is in Waterville which is about 20 miles from us. I had left the house with 30 minutes to drive there and find the office. It was 3:40 when I was getting really frustrated. I was SO lost and couldn't find the street. I was at that point 10 minutes late and I hate when patients are late. I called the office to give them a heads up and asked for directions. They asked where I was and then said...Hold on. I waited for 5 minutes on hold while still driving around looking for their office. By this time, I was even more frustrated and finally found the street and hung up. I had to drive down the street for about 5 miles, passed the building, then flip around to find it. FINALLY, I pulled in at 3:55....25 minutes late! I felt really bad, but very frustrated no one on the phone even cared I was lost. I went to the desk to check in and the lady says...You're late! I'll ask the doctor if she'll see you! She was so rude. I sat in the waiting room for a good 5 minutes before anyone said anything. I was about ready to walk out. THEN, a nurse comes out and says "I tried calling your phone" I looked at her and said, "No one called" Then she said "It said out of service" So then I said, "Did you dial 801 as the area code, not 207" Ya...that's what I thought! I also told her I called to let you guys know I was late and needed directions because I was totally lost. I've lived in Maine for a whole 3 months...give me a break. She gives me a dirty look and says "I'll be right back. I'll go talk to the doctor" K by this time, I wanted to cry because I just got yelled at, felt retarded, on top of feeling bad for being late, frustrated for getting lost. I wanted to walk out and say...I'll take my daughter where she is wanted. Just as I was ready to leave, they took me back in the room. They rushed me through her stats and then said, "The doctor will be seeing the 4:00 patients and will get to you when she's done. You're just going to have to wait" Seriously, I understand, I was late. Quit treating me like dirt. We waited about 20 minutes for the doctor. She was so good. I was very impressed. She seemed like she really wanted to get to know Jaycee and I and asked lots of questions. Also just seemed like she really enjoyed her job. Jaycee did so good and let her do her check-up without crying or anything. She even gave Jaycee a book to take home for being good. Jaycee is 23.6 pounds=50% for her weight, and she was 60% for her height. She also got 2 shots and only cried for a brief second. My baby is such a good girl! Now I'm torn because I don't want to go back because of the staff being so rude, but I loved the doctor even more than the one in Utah. Hmmmm....I'll ponder this. That was our trip to the pediatrician.

Egg Festival

Jaycee at the Karnival


Playing on the swings at the park


She loves the swings


5k here I come!


Nice pose hun!


Tired and wet! But overall....a good time!


At the parade...it was a little wet!








Brayden's favorite part of the parade


At the carnival they had a petting zoo that Kleinschmidt sponsored. Jaycee loved petting the goats and even gave one a kiss. We laughed so hard.


The week of July 24 was the Central Maine Egg Festival which is celebrated in Pittsfield. There were people everywhere which is crazy for our little town. They had a lot of events going on including: concert in the park, window painting contest, softball game, Little chick contest, parade, fireworks, Quiche & cheesecake baking contest, fireworks, and our credit union hosted a 5k, and much more. When I found out about the big events we invited Dathan and Kel up for a fun weekend. Also I decided to dive right in to the festivities. I entered Jaycee into the Little Chick photo contest. There were at least 30 pictures and to vote people put $ in a slot where the picture was posted at the local grocery store. She didn't win, but it's hard because we don't have lots of family to go vote for her. It was still fun. I also made a cheesecake for the baking contest. I didn't win on that either, but the competition was stiff. The one that won was seriously a gourmet cheesecake out of a magazine! How can I compete with that! My oreo cheesecake was still yummy and had cute pink egg sprinkles on top. I was glad I still participated and even met a nice family. Saturday (24th) was the last day of the festivities. I signed Craig and I up to run the 5k in the morning. Ever since we got married we always talk about wanting to run in one. He never has and I have only once. Last year was rough because I was nursing and Jaycee was just a newborn, so that didn't happen. So without Craig knowing until a week before I signed us up. We only had a week to prepare, but we weren't nervous considering we go jogging at least once a week and usually do at least 2.5 miles. We woke up that morning @ 6:30 and it was cloudy and overcast. I was so excited cuz I love jogging in the rain. Only bad thing is we couldn't take Jaycee in the stroller because she would get soaked. She stayed home with Kel and Dathan. We ended jogging 3.1 miles and when we saw the layout of where we were running, it was quite familiar. We did almost that same jog the week before. There were only about 50 people there since it was raining. The whole last mile was pretty tough because it was a gradual increase with a big hill at the end. BUT we endured and crossed the finish line @ 30.31. I'm not proud of that time by any means and want to do better, but for the first one in a long time I was glad we finished. We didn't stop at all and Craig was a big help. I think Craig would've done it faster but he stayed behind with me. It was really fun and I'm itching to do another one soon.
We got back from the run and then headed up the street for the parade. By this time it was really wet outside, but people were ready for a parade. Brayden got a lot of candy and enjoyed it. After the parade we went back home to get everyone and head over to the park for the Karnival. We hung out there for a bit and visited with some friends. On the way back we HAD to take them to Big Bills and get some ice cream. We then walked our .4 miles back home and everyone except Kel and I crashed. My legs were pretty sore from running that morning and then walking so much so it was nice to rest a bit. Haylie and Jaycee had such a fun time the whole weekend. They acted like best friends and followed each other and copied each other. It was so cute. We then busted out all the stuff for our traditional Alfredo BBQ Chicken Pizza and then played Catan. At about 9 we heard the fireworks going off at the park and could actually see them pretty well from our house. All-in-all it was a fun day! The next day we took them to church with us and came home and made Navajo Tacos for dinner. Then of course before they left we had to play Catan again! It's fun to sit around the table and play and laugh and be goofy. I love our Catan playing! At church I got a new calling....I just barely got called to be a Relief Society instructor and only taught 2 times. I guess the Lord has other places for me to be. I haven't been sustained yet, so you'll have to just keep reading until I tell what my new calling is :) All I can say is...I'm very excited. Teaching relief society stressed me out!
That was our weekend and it was a great one. Jaycee has her 15 month checkup appointment today (yes, she is overdue considering she is almost 17 months). We had to wait until our insurance started and then the pediatrician had to "approve" her to be seen. That took about 2 weeks to get back to us. Kinda dumb. She doesn't know what's coming...shots!!!
Tomorrow I'm going with the Sister Missionaries again to teach an investigator who is planning on getting baptized next month. I told the sisters I would love going with them every week if I could. I love the spirit I feel, and also I love sharing what I know to be true :) Brother Brown is an awesome example to me.
THEN!.... on Friday we are headed to Dathan and Kel's house again. On Saturday is our Branch Temple Trip so we asked if they'd babysit Jaycee and then decided to just stay down there for the weekend. I love that they live pretty close and that our kids get along so well. Also it's nice to see Dathan calm down from working to hang out. So the least we can do is relax him a bit. I'm really excited.
The family is doing well. Craig is very happy with his job still. We very fortunate to be able to work for Kleinschmidt. We also feel very blessed from Heavenly Father who constantly blesses our family. We took a HUGE leap of faith coming out here. We recently found out Craig's best friend Joe got laid off from ARW (Craig's old work). We felt so bad for him and his family and took that in account to our life. What if we hadn't moved,...would that happen to us? Luckily, Joe did find a new job quickly and we hope the best for him! I still remember the day in church when Craig came up to me and said, " I'm going to sign the offer letter and have faith everything will work out" And things did! There is so much opportunity with this company for Craig to grow and advance. Also we are so excited we'll be able to move back to the west coast closer to family. Oh, and another thing with Craig that I'm so proud...we started our "diet" a little bit ago...he's lost 9 pounds! He's looking so good and it's so nice having support for helping me to lose my baby pounds. I'm jealous he can loose it so quick, but life isn't fair I guess. I've only lost 5 pounds, but hey, it's a start. Nothing new with me really. Just loving life with being home. I've been trying to be more domestic. It's so much fun. Last week I made Tuna Casserole for the first time. Craig and Jaycee loved it! Also I made banana bread and we took it over to our neighbor Jackie and gave a loaf to our landlords who were up for the weekend. I really want to pick up a new hobby. I bought a Sudoku book and loved it so much I finished them all in about a week. I'm going to start my scrapbooking again and want to learn to crochet or cross-stitch. Just an idea. Jaycee is getting so big! She tells us all the time that she wants a baby brother/sister ;) but we tell her...NOT YET! She's into this monkey stage where she climbs on everything. She thinks she's such a big girl when she climbs up on the couch and give a cheesy grin. She absolutely loves Izzy to pieces. They're pretty much best friends. Well except with Izzy eats her food. The best part is that Izzy lets her do anything to her. Jaycee loves to sit in her lap when Izzy lays down. That's the cutest thing ever. Jaycee also is really into watching movies. She'll go sit in front of the TV and sign "movie" and I usually give in. But only once a day. She loves her "My Little Pony" one the best....THANKS DALYNNE! She's definetly a little girl and loves twirling and dancing.
Craig and I bought our plane tickets last week. We got a great deal...we think. We found tickets going out to SLC for $134 and coming back to Manchester for $134. I can't believe being so close to Christmas how plane tickets are EXPENSIVE! The cheapest I ever found them was $159 going out and $300 coming back. We jumped right on this great deal when I saw the price. We fly out the morning of December 14 and get into Utah around 5:00 pm. I hope Jaycee does good on the airplane. We then fly back on my birthday January 4. We can't wait to visit and be back at "home" with family!