Newest Member of the Stokes Family

Baby has not come early. Still a few weeks away.

A very early Christmas Present instead.

Meet Lucky! He's a registered black and silver miniature schnauzer. A gift from Grandma and Grandpa to Quinn and Carter, the boys couldn't be more excited.

He was born on the 4th of July. My mom actually was able to help in his birth. We've told the boys that they could have a dog one day, after we had our own house. Who would have thought that "one" day would come so soon.

I don't know if you can tell just how excited they are in this picture.

Lucky is currently living with my parents in Green River until our house is finished. Where he is being house broken and receiving some training before coming to stay with us.

Quinn's First Day of School

Who gives children permission to grow up? Quinn started kindergarten this year. He was very excited and ready to go. And believe it or not I was actually ready to send him. He's been going for a month now and LOVES it! He's been doing really well and it's fun to watch him grow intellectually. He tends to impress me on a regular basis with the things he now knows.

Waiting ever so "patiently" on the front steps of the house.

There was not a moments hesitations as he left the gate and waved goodbye.School starts at 9 in the morning, which works out perfectly for us. First of all because I'm still not a morning person. With school at 9 I have a chance to get up with Quinn and make sure he has breakfast and everything he needs. Although he's the one who wakes me up most mornings. Second, Brian doesn't have to be to work until 9 so he gets to drive Quinn to school most mornings, which is good bonding time for them!

Quinn is a "North Star" Just like his father was.

His teacher Mrs. Lonsway! Quinn adores her. We actually requested her as his teacher, because she was Brian's kindergarten teacher. Once I met her I knew she was the perfect teacher for Quinn.

Sugar and Spice

First in August and then again in September the O.B. confirmed what Brian and others have already suspected. I am expecting a little girl. Of course when he gave us the official gender Quinn looked at him and said, "We already knew that." Taya Ann's due date is December 7 or 8, but we'll see if she waits that long before coming.
On a quick trip up to Laramie, my awesome friends got together to give me a baby shower. Not only did this help me feel a little bit more secure about having the appropriate girl attire but helped me become excited for pink, cute shoes, and bows!
Thank you to everyone who came, Thank you to everyone for the awesome gifts. And a special thank you to Cari, Jen, and Julia for putting that all together and giving me an awesome party! I hope you know how much I appreciate your friendship.
We will actually be in our house before Taya comes, and we now have a place for her to sleep. Luckily we still don't have to have her room ready until she's a few months old. It's making a great place to store boxes until we can get them unpacked.
While I still feel nervous about the new challenges a girl will bring, I am excited for something different from wrestling, cars, and guns!

House Update

In the last 6 weeks or so there has been tremendous progress on our house! If you can take all stress out of the equations, it's actually been fun to watch it all come together. Power was the first thing that was hooked up. It was also the one thing that took the most time. But boy is it exciting to see lights on at our house.The Septic system in the back yard. It's now hooked up, buried and fully functional. As both boys just had to "test" the system once it was up and working. About the same time as the Septic System was being finished, the propane tank showed up. By the end of the day we had heat! And the holes in the backyard were filled in with dirt.

The back yard is just dirt but it doesn't seem to bother Quinn or Carter. They think it's their own personal sandbox. Grass, tress and other landscaping will have to wait until summer, but that's fine with me as I really have no idea what I'm doing.

Although I'm not sure who is having more fun playing in the dirt, the boys or Brian. Of course Brian calls his work that he just "has" to do. But he never seems to complain when there is a need to rent and run a tractors in the dirt.

Another hole that had to be dug. This one is for the water! The last one left. The next project is to actually move in!