Hallelujah!

Finally! I have figured out our stinkin' answering machine. For months now people have been calling and leaving messages, but our machine never registered that we had any messages. After googling it, reading the manual, and pushing ALL of the buttons on the machine, I finally gave up . . . and then Rhett tried. He googled it, read the manual online, also pushed all sorts of buttons. But to no avail.
Well, yesterday, I decided I'd record a new announcement explaining that we couldn't get our messages so when people called, they'd know not to leave a message. Well, I recorded it, but it never changed when I did a trial call. Finally, the thought occured to me--why are we paying for voicemail, when all we need is to hook up the answering machine? So I did some research and realized our voicemail through Qwest was set to pick up at four rings, and the answering machine was set to pick up at six--so the answering machine never got to pick up the calls. I had to call Qwest to get my password to retrieve our voicemails, and when I finally got to them, we had 35! I had to listen to all of them to delete them--25 of which were me and Rhett saying, "This is a test." I thought that was pretty funny. So I've decided to cancel our voicemail services (since we are paying for them), and just use the stinkin' answering machine (which we've already paid for).
On another note, it has been snowing like crazy. We've had more than 24 inches now in just two days. This beats the record of 13 inches. Last week, Rhett received an email from the Dean of Academics saying under no condition would they ever cancel or reschedule finals. They said weather was no excuse to missing class, and if they couldn't drive, they were expected to walk. Well, this morning, he got another email from the Dean of the Law School saying the entire school (of Gonzaga), including the law school, was closed, and finals would have to be rescheduled. How exciting, I guess. Today was his last final, and it would have been nice just to get it over with, but now he'll just take it after the break. They even cancelled Law School graduation.
So this morning we walked to the Harris' and had breakfast with the Day's (minus Jen and Brookie), the Green's and of course, the Harris'. After that we watched an awesome movie called "Traitor." It was a great start to our Christmas vacation!

She's Eating!

Well, Saturday night was the big night. We stuck a bib on Summer, mixed up some rice cereal, put her in her walker, and got our soft spoon ready. We began to feed her, and . . . she loved it! We could not believe how she gulped all of it down. Of course, it wasn't very much to start out with, but it was enough to give her some practice with eating from the spoon--which she really didn't need the practice because she had it down right from the start. She even began lunging for it! It was so much fun.

Nativity Picture

Okay, in regards to Angie's request, I'm posting our Nativity picture here.





And tomorrow is the big day: the RS Musical Dinner Theater. I don't even know if it's worth stressing about anymore because it's pretty much too late to make any changes. I know it will all turn out okay, but how is what I'm wondering.

ps

If you want to see an awesome Nativity picture, click here. Characters are as follows:
Mary: Britt, Joseph: Rhett, Jesus: Summer, Shepherd: Daren Harris, Wiseman(?): Josh Green, Wisewomen(or rich shepherds): Heather Harris and Rachel Green. Thanks for the fun time!

Real Quick . . .

Well, I realize we haven't posted for a while. Mainly it's because life has been hectic like no other! Dad's studying for finals like crazy. He's working hard and preparing his best, and mom has full confidence that he will do well. Summer's actually crawling now, and mom has to run around the apartment and make sure everything is off the floor that she can't get into--like power chords and remote controls and dvds/cds, etc. We try to keep her just on her blanket on the floor, but she does end up wandering. It takes her a while to get anywhere, but she's getting there. And mom's stressing about the "Five-Star Relief Society Musical Dinner Theater" that she's in charge of on Friday. (We'll leave out all the juicy details--like unrealistic requests too late, unexpected fall-throughs, and major miscommunications.) In addition to that, mom's email was too full, so after deleting a few things last night, this morning she woke up to 27 new messages that she has to sort through, plus there are dishes to be done, laundry to be washed, and now that Summer's crawling, a floor that really, really needs to be vaccuumed. We still haven't gotten our Christmas decorations out yet, and then there's the list of Christmas gifts that we haven't gotten to, either. Other than that (and a computer that Microsoft has stopped working on and a musical number on the 14th in Sacrament meeting), we are doing great! Hope everyone is doing well too!

Barney Look-alike Meter

MyHeritage: Look-alike Meter - Pedigree - Family genealogy

New Clothes and Old Friends

Our friends April and Grace let us borrow some clothes for Summer. Grace is two months younger than Summer, but she is almost just as big. Grace has boxes and boxes of clothes, so we're going to borrow a few each week and then return them the next. Here's Summer wearing two of Grace's outfits.


This is actually one of the only times Summer has worn a head band. It's cute, but I don't think she liked it.











On another note, I woke up yesterday morning and decided I wanted to get in touch with some old friends from my college days. (Ha, that makes me sound so old.) So I got onto the BYU-I alumni webpage and searched for classmates. I found everyone that I was looking for, sent out some emails, and have had a great time catching up with everyone. I got just addresses of a few people who didn't have their email available, and I'm excited for the adventure of getting back in touch with them too. It's been great seeing pictures and hearing how everyone is doing. Good times!

Summer's 4 Month Checkup

Summer went in for her four month checkup last Friday. She was 24 inches in length and 11 lbs 4 oz. The doctor said she is looking good and healthy. He saw her roll over and said that we wouldn't need to worry at all about her development; she's ahead of schedule and doing great. Before we know it, Summer will be studying in school like her dad! She's already surfing the internet like him!

Happy Halloween!

What an awesome Halloween Party! First of all, we got a killer deal at Goodwill on everyone's costumes this year. We found a Tinker Bell costume for Summer for $3, so we decided to go as Tinker Bell, Peter Pan (Britt), and Cap'n Hook (Rhett). We improvised on the Peter Pan and Hook costumes: Rhett cut and sewed (about thirty minutes before the party started) to get everything ready. He cut the extra off Peter Pan's hat and then sewed it back up, and then he used a black felt purse for his own hat (we just pinned the skull and cross bones onto it). 

We played lots of games and ate lots of yummy food. Loved the spider crackers, the mummy dogs, the eyeball cupcakes, the homemade root-beer, and the extremely unhealthy but deliciously irresistible caramel popcorn. The first game we played was the flour game, and we both lucked out and had to dig the starburst out of the pile of flour. Rhett kissed Summer afterward, so she even got in on the flour too!

Summer in the Swing

While we were at Granmda Searle's, Summer had a good time enjoying the swing. This is also a fun clip of her talking. She talked almost non-stop at during the week in Shelley, and now that we're home, she doesn't say anything!

Summer's Sunday Dress

Summer is growing so much. We just can't believe how fast she's growing. All she ever does now is smile, stand, and squeal. She is such a joy in our lives.

We received this dress as a gift after she was born. I remember thinking it would never fit her! But now it does . . . well, almost. It's still a little big for her, but it looks adorable on her. 

Tonight we had dinner with the Greens: Josh and Rachel. It was delicious lasagna with veggies and rolls. Yum! Then we played an awesome game of Ticket to Ride. Josh smoked us all, but it was a lot of fun. Finally, we ended the night with the addicting game of Mario Kart on the Wii. It's a good thing that we don't have one of those. Poor Summer would get a little neglected with mom sitting in front of the TV all day trying to win. She has a weakness for Mario Kart (and any other kind of nintendo games). We had a great time, and it was nice of Josh and Rachel to invite us over after our long drive back from Shelley.

Mr. Alligator Song

Mom and Summer went back to Shelley for the week to attend their close friend's funeral. Monday night, Bry and Myka's family were there, and this was the Family Home Evening song everyone participated in. Yes, Brecken is playing the ukelele, and yes, Grandpa Searle is making up those dissonant chords!

Grandma and Grandpa and Who?

So Grandma said the choice was a shirt for Dad for his birthday, or these awesome glasses for Summer, and of course, she had to go with the glasses. Good thing too, because Dad has crossed his side of the closet with all his shirts, and Summer looks like a HOTTIE. 

Summer's Walking!

Okay, so maybe not really, but it's cute anyway. I know we skipped a step here: I should have videoed how much she loves to just stand up. I tried getting a good one, but it was hard to get one just right. And now what we have is her taking steps (with the help of her dad). She loves being up like this. (Sorry it's sideways!)

Jeopardy and the Garbage

Last night the garbage needed to be taken out. Well, I thought it would be fun to challenge Rhett to a game of Jeopardy to see who would have to take it out. I had found a website that had Jeopardy games created for school--grades K-12. I let Rhett choose the category (so he would have no excuses when I smoked him). He chose 3rd grade "Weather."
Some of the questions were actually pretty tricky. We would go through the thought process of "Is it this? No, that's too easy. Maybe it's this . . ." And then there were some that we were both like, "I have no idea."
At the end of the game, I asked Rhett if he wanted the good news or the bad news. He chose the bad news. I said, "The bad news is that you're taking the garbage out. The good news is I don't have to!" I won by quite a few, but I don't remember the score exactly (he told me to say that).
If you want to test out your knowledge, here's the link: http://www.hardin.k12.ky.us/res_techn/countyjeopardygames.htm
Good luck!

A Good Weekend

We had a good weekend. Grandma and Grandpa Searle, along with Aunt Kate, came to visit us. We watched conference on Kate's laptop, visited the Spokane temple, and just spent time together. We had a really good time. They headed out today, and we already miss them. But now we're counting down the days for Grandma and Grandpa Kartchner's visit!

Name That Movie

Pop Quiz:
What movie is this clip from?

A Trip to Tacoma

Over the weekend, we visited Rhett's brother and sister-in-law in Tacoma. We had a lot of fun, and Summer loved spending time with Uncle Andrew and Aunt Maria. Saturday was free museum day, so we went to the Glass Museum (which was originally $18 per person!) It was amazing to see all the different creations from glass. This picture is all of us in the auditorium where workers were blowing and shaping glass right before our eyes. It was awesome (and very hot!)

A Cold Day in Spokane

Today was a little chilly--rain and a little wind too. So when we went out, we bundled Summer up in her new jacket. We thought it was so cute we had to do a photo shoot when she had it on!

A PB&J for Mom!

Okay, so not technically Peanut Butter and Jelly, but almost. Thanks to some good friends here (Thanks Josh!) we found some "Almond Butter" and today, for the first time, I was able to eat an almost-pb&j sandwich. Rhett said it tasted pretty close to peanut butter, and I didn't have any allergic reactions. It was great and tasted so yummy!

Shots

Summer had her first visit to the Spokane doctor on Tuesday. His name is Dr. Moorman, and he was very kind. She weighed ten pounds even, and was 22.5 inches long. Mom couldn't believe Summer's weight gain! She watched as the nurse tapped the marker to the right: 6 . . . 7 . . . 8 . . . 9 . . . and 10! Wow! 

She also got her first set of shots. She took it like a Barney and was tough and strong. She cried a little bit, but Mom held her quickly, and she calmed down. She didn't get a fever or anything, but she was a little fussy the next day. Today, she's feeling great as ever and is standing again like crazy. It's good to have our Summer back!

Our Table Story

The quick version of getting our table:

We were window shopping at garage sales and Craig's List for a table and chairs. We found one for $150 on Craig's List so we contacted them and set up a time to meet and see it. The pictures were really cute--a cute wooden table with four cute chairs. So we drove in Rhett's little car to check it out. We walked in and loved it. Sat in the chairs and said, "We'll take it." Rhett said, "The chairs are comfy too." Then the man said, "Yeah, my wife didn't want to sell the chairs." Well, we were under the impression that we were getting the table and chairs for $125 (we got mixed up on the price with a few others we looked at). So we were a little disappointed but felt like we couldn't really change our minds. The man loaded it up in his truck because there was no way it would fit in Rhett's little car next to Summer's car seat. (And this guy is . . . a little bit older than old with a bandage wrap on his arm. I was worried he was going to have a heart attack right there!) Anyway, he wanted cash, not a check, so on our way home, we stopped and got $125. He helped Rhett carry it up the stairs and into our apartment. Then the issue of the cost came up. "Was it $150? Or $125?" "I thought it was $125." "I think it's $150. I could be wrong. My wife's the one in charge . . . " So anyway, I found a ten dollar bill sitting on the counter and was running around trying to find some more loose change. (Poor college students don't really  have loose change around, so it was kind of hard.) He took a look around and realized how poor we are and said, "You guys are just starting out. This will be fine." And he left. 

Rhett and I sat on the couch (not at the table because there were no chairs. We were both a little upset about the "misrepresentation" in the pictures). Then we did the only thing we could do at a time like this. We went garage sale shopping for chairs. "But people don't just sell dining table chairs. They are going to sell chairs with the table, and we already have a table," I said to Rhett. Well, the first place we stopped at, stuff was set up everywhere, on the table, around, etc. The man said, "Everything here is for sale except the table." Rhett and I looked at each other. How ironic. But the chairs just weren't right. So we said we'd think about it and come back. We went searching again. The next place we stopped, there were five nice chairs. But we only wanted four. They were being sold for $100, and we did not want to spend that much. We could have just gone to Wal Mart to get something cheaper and still nice! Rhett told the seller we only wanted four chairs, but she didn't really want to sell only four and have one left over--a little more difficult to sell just one than a set. We were standing there checking them out when another lady came by and starting looking at them. The seller had dropped the price to $75 because there was a screw missing in the arm of the armchair. I whispered to Rhett that this lady wanted the chairs too, but she heard and said, "No, I only want one." Wow. How ironic again. So we took the four chairs for $60, and I talked the other lady into buying just the one armchair. It worked out pretty well.

The wood doesn't match exactly--the chairs are a reddish color, and the table is brown (found in an old barn and built around 1906)--but the white table cloth hides the mismatch and it actually looks really nice in our little home. We celebrated that night by eating at our table on our chair with our matching dishes!

Okay, so much for the short version of the story! That's what I get for being an English Major! Sorry!

Waking up from a nap . . .

Here's Summer waking up from her nap. She's so happy and cheerful when she wakes up. Definitely doesn't have the grouchy-wake-up genes from the Searles! 

The latest news is that we got a table. Due to unreliable internet, the first priority was to get these pictures up. The new table story will have to wait till next time! And I have no idea why the font is blue and underlined!

A Mini Rhett

Mom found a good babysitter for Summer--Heather Harris. She came over today to watch Summer while Mom shopped at WalMart. It was definitely easier and faster to get all the groceries without trying to lug Summer in her carrier everywhere. Summer had a good time with Heather. She even smiled for her. And Heather had a good time too. She offered to come once a week to let Mom run errands and get groceries. Mom will probably take her up on it!

Mom and Dad met with a member of the bishopric yesterday. Mom got called to be the 

Relief Society Music Director. That means she's in charge of choosing the songs each Sunday, of doing the practice hymn, and then of filling in for the pianist and conductor when needed. Dad got an "assignment" that he willingly accepted. He, a few times every other month, will go to the church (a three minute walk from our apartment) at 5:40 in the morning and unlock it for the seminary group. If there's snow, he'll need to shovel. If the kids don't go to class, he's supposed to sit in the foyer and read the New Testament with them. (Secretly he's planning to read Civil Procedures with them. "Then they'll be begging to go back to class!" he said.)

Summer's still growing like crazy. Mom had to retire her giraffe pajamas today because they are now too small for her to wear. Summer is now in the 0-3 month selection of clothes, but they are still a little too big. Mom thinks she's looking just like Dad. A Mini Rhett. How great!

"I'm So Glad When Daddy Comes Home!"

Summer loves playing with her dad. She rides shoulders and stands up a lot. I have more fun playing with her than she does playing with me I think. After a few minutes of standing or shoulder riding she cries. Oh well. I still have a good time.

Summer Says Hello!

Okay, so maybe she doesn't really say "hello," but she is doing quite a bit of talking now. We love hearing her cute little voice. She also is really into sitting up. She needs help, of course, but she loves it. Whenever she holds our fingers, she lifts her head up telling us she wants to sit up. Sometimes, she even pulls herself up to stand! She's a little wobbly, and we never let go, but it's so fun to see her tiny legs balancing her.

PS Jill--I put the video on by myself. Are you proud?

Some More Summer

Well, we know that most people checking our blog really want to see the updates of Summer, so here are some more pictures.

This weekend was  a lot of fun. Friday night, Fred Meyer gave 20% discounts for all Gonzaga students--but only from 11pm to 1am. We're poor college students, and we can use all the help we can get, so we packed up and headed over to Fred Meyer in the middle of the night. We really only found a few cute outfits for Summer (warm ones for the winter), and of course, we "had" to get them with such a good discount. It really probably wasn't the most productive shopping trip, but it was a lot of fun.

Labor Day Weekend is the weekend of "Pig Out at the Park." It's kind of like a magnified Spud Day--for three days straight. On Saturday, we ended up heading to the park and meeting about five other law school couples. It was a lot of fun. We just sat on the grass, had a little to eat, and mostly just talked with the live bands playing in the background. It was a lot of fun too. 

I was really worried, before we moved here, about making friends and having a social life--with Rhett being gone to school for so much time, but I've been surprised and blessed with some great friends already. I even think they were in the same boat as me--worried as well. We've formed great friendships already.

Summer on Sunday

This was Summer's Sunday outfit--the first time she wore a headband (besides her blessing day). She is seven weeks old in this picture.

A Half Smile

Mom keeps trying to catch some of Summer's pretty smiles. She almost got it this time!

A Full Night's Sleep . . . Almost

Well last night was Summer's first night to sleep all the way until 5 am, and, yes, as everyone predicted, when Mom woke up, she ran into Summer's room to make sure she was still breathing. It was a restful and much awaited-for night.
Mom made her first trip to the public library today and found out there are ELEVEN public libraries here! She has now decided this place is heaven on earth!
Dad had a little catastrophe in class--his new laptop crashed. It had all of his class notes and assignments, which he has now lost. So now, the weekend that was supposed to be a little relaxing and maybe even a little play, will now be a weekend of makeup. Dad's tough, though, and works hard. Mom knows he'll get it done and also be able to relax a little.

Summer Dawn

Here's a picture of our sweet Summer Dawn. She sure is growing fast!

Law School Begins

Well, yesterday was Rhett's first day of classes . . . and he came home with a smile on his face. That was a relief. We were both worried the professors would try to scare everyone off on the first day of class. But the classes were actually quite enjoyable for him. One of his professors is from Nepal--he has a very heavy accent which everyone is trying to adjust to, and he also has very interesting stories. We think Rhett will really enjoy going to school here.

Summer and Mom are doing well. We went "window shopping" at the mall with some friends yesterday. Mom found a book of poems about mothers written by Maya Angelou (one of her favorite poets) and the "window shopping" quickly transformed to just plain "shopping." She probably won't be taking any "emergency" money with her next time she goes.

Summer's growing and starting to recognize Mom and Dad's faces. She gave Dad some really big smiles yesterday--quite rewarding for Dad since he had been gone all day and just got home. She's also experimenting with the noises that come out of her mouth. It is so fun to listen to her try to talk!

Settled in Spokane

Well, it seems like blogging is the way to go these days to stay in touch with everyone, so we decided to get ours going. We are finally settled in Spokane, and we love it here. The people are so friendly--we've made quite a few friends in the ward and from the law school, and we've only been here a week. Three other new couples in our ward are also law students. One couple has a new baby too. When we met on Sunday, they asked how old Summer was. We told them six weeks, and then we asked how old their baby was--she was a pretty big baby. They told us she was six weeks too. Everyone laughed. We couldn't believe they were the same age with such a big difference. Needless to say, we are happy with the one we have--tiny and cuddly. 

Also, the good news from Sunday: the Provident Living specialist stood up in Relief Society and explained that the ward was looking into getting a pressure cooker to pass around to each family for canning. Literally, cheers of excitement were heard across the room. Then someone piped up and said we could now be known as "The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pressure Cooker." I thought that was hilarious.