Austin and his Auntie

On Saturday we made a trip down to Rexburg, ID. My sister Tiffany is going to school there and she was a sweetheart and watched Austin so Chris and I could go to the temple. Below is a picture of the two of them together. Austin had a blast with his Aunt. When we came back he hardly noticed we'd been gone. Aunt Tiffany let him make a good mess of her apartment and they had lots of fun playing together! We went to dinner all together and Austin kept giving her big hugs! We love you Aunt Tiff! Thank you for giving Chris and I a break!

Yes Austin still lives with his parents

Chris's First Elk

Today Chris got to go hunting with my Uncle Gil and cousins Ky and Kal and look what Chris brought home! He was pretty excited. It was his first elk. It has been pretty hard to find anything this fall because the weather has been so warm so the game is still pretty high up in the mountains. Chris had a tag for a bull or a cow so he had decided he would shoot whatever came along. He and my Uncle were walking a fence line and they saw an elk in the willows. Chris thought it was a cow but when it came out he was nicely suprised. He took it down with one shot (with his new 300 Weatherby that was his fathers day present from yours truly). Austin was pretty excited when he saw it. He kept pointing and oohing while Chris and my cousins were skinning it. I think we will have the antlers mounted but contrary to what Chris says they will not be hanging over our bed!

Goose Hunting

Chris went goose hunting this morning for the first time and brought home a huge goose. Austin was very impressed! He oohd and aahhd and pointed at the goose. Chris let him touch the feathers and he thought that was pretty neat. I think he'll be a little hunter when he gets older.
He already has the camo coat thanks to his Grandpa Todd!

Halloween

Unfortunately this Halloween Austin had a horrible gastrointestinal virus and was sick for over a week. He was not able to go trick or treating but the other night we let him dress up in his costume and go to his great grandma and grandpas house. Great Grandma Stoddard had a bag full of treats for him. He really liked the fruitloops and marshmallows but his favorite was the fresh squeezed apple juice grandma gave him! He could not get enough of it! Below are a few pictures. Isn't he a cute little vampire?

Missing My Boys

So the past week I had to go to New York for work. It was so fun to see all my friends at the office that I miss so much, spend time with my sister Ashley and new brother-in-law Marlon, and visit Chris's brother Gordon. But this was the first time I have ever had to leave Austin for more than 1 night. I now he is in good hands with his Grandma and Chris but I missed him so bad!!!! The real killer is when I called and talked to him and he would say, "ma ma. ma ma." I wanted to reach through the phone and squeeze him. So now I am sitting in the Minneapolis/St Paul Airport with a 3hr layover and I can hardly stand it knowing I am going to see my boys in just 5hrs! I think this is going to be the longest layover ever!

Austin's Birthday Party!!!!

Austin just turned 1 on October 8th. We had his birthday party the Sunday before so all of his aunts, uncles and cousins from Montana could be there. Austin had a wonderful time!!! At first he didn't quite get the present thing but each time a new toy came out he would get a huge grin on his face. Then he would start playing with the toy and would be mad at mommy when she made him come over to open another one. After the first two he started to realize that there were a bunch of toys in those bags and was a little more interested in unwrapping them. When his cousins sang happy birthday to them he waved. It was quite cute.
On his actual birthday, I took him to the toy store to pick out a present from Chris and I . It was the funniest thing I have ever seen. He started walking as fast as he could go up and down the isles. Then when he found something he liked he would stop, point, look up and me and say, "oooh". Chasing Austin around the toy store was the best exercise mommy got the whole week! His biggest "oohs" happened to be for a big plastic 4x4 truck that had a trailer attached to it that was carrying a 4 wheeler. And the best part about that was that it was on clearence for $8!!!! So we took the truck home. When Chris came home from work Austin was so excited to show it to him. He has been playing with it ever since. He loves to load the back of the truck with his blocks and push it around the living room. I can't belive my boy is 1! He is growing up so fast!

Austin's Birthday Cake

Singing Happy Birthday