Home Sweet Home

We made it back home! Although it was no fun to leave my family on Christmas Day, it's always nice to be back home. Kate had a hard time sleeping at my parent's, but last night, being in her own room, she slept until 8 am! FANTASTIC, seeing how she would wake up at about 2 while in Vegas.

On Christmas Eve, at the family party, Dustin had to lead the closing song, Silent Night. When it was over, he was showing me how he was conducting and I cringed! Ok, so I might be a little crazy about this, but you have to realize that I took a conducting class at BYU, and my teacher was EXTREMELY PICKY!! So Dustin was waving his arm trying to look like he knows what he's doing and I can't help but laugh. Well, the worst part is that SO many people came up to him and told him how great he did! I couldn't believe that they were telling him how professional he looked. "Wow, you really know what you're doing up there!" Each time he'd look at me and give me a big smile. We had a good laugh about it on the way home. I need to clarify that I wasn't really upset, just so CONFUSED! Dustin sure makes me laugh everyday!

Vegas!

Dustin, Kate, and I are here in Las Vegas and having an AWESOME time! It's so great to be with my family, but it feels like it's going by WAY too fast. We got here late Friday night and have been busy with family dinners, games, the water show at the Bellagio, and making gingerbread houses. Yesterday (Monday), Ashley (my sister-in-law), took pictures of our little family and they are BEAUTIFUL!! Once we get the CD, I'll be sure to upload some of our favorites. We went to the Las Vegas temple and found a perfect spot with a cute path and green grass complete with yellow leaves. SO HAPPY! Seriously, I usually don't feel too happy after getting my picture taken, but it was just perfect yesterday and can't wait to get some prints. Kate is having a BLAST with all of the toys at my mom's and playing with her cousin Jaxon. Tomorrow night is the Christmas Eve party with the Rogers Fam and I'm looking forward to seeing all my family. Tricia and I are in charge of the closing song (piano and violin) so crossing my fingers hoping it goes well!

I love Christmas time and am so happy to be with family!!!!

Kate!

Happy Amy?

Yeah, I know...I'm a total slacker! Amy pretty much told me this morning that she was sick of checking my blog and finding the same ol' junk on it. So Amy, Merry Christmas! I'm updating my blog for you.

Ha Ha! I totally love this picture. He cracks me up when he makes this face.

The other night Dustin was eating cornbread and he wanted me to take some pictures of him. I mean, who doesn't want pictures while eating cornbread? He's such a goof! And yes, that is spray butter in the background. We love it!

Kate has now had a bottom tooth for about 3 weeks. How cool is that?! She doesn't like to open her mouth so we can see her tooth, so I wondered how I would get a good picture of it. Well, check out this little gem!

She's so stinkin' cute! Ok, so the picture is a tad scary, but at least you can see her tooth. And believe it or not, this is pretty much how she smiles all the time now. Except she scrunches up her nose more. Random people love it when she gives them her "cheezer". And on Wednesday she started waving at people. She used to just stick up her arm, but she's actually getting a little movement now!

This is from a while ago, but I had to show it off! Our homemade chicken pot pie (deep dish I might add), complete with an "H" for Harding!

All in all, we're doing so well! Dustin is almost done with finals and has straight A's so far! He's such a great student. Our ward is awesome!!! Yesterday Kate and I went to a tea party to hang out with other moms and their babies. The girls are so friendly and fun. And on Tuesday I was able to play my violin for the RS Christmas dinner. I played a duet with a girl on her flute. I love the violin and am going to be teaching soon! Yea!
Love you all!!!!

It feels good not to be homeless

Our apartment opened up! We'll move in the 29th of this month, with new carpet and painted walls. FANTASTIC!!! With a baby, new carpet is like a dream come true. If you plan on coming over, be prepared to take off your shoes!


Things have been going so super well lately. There has been a lot going on, but I won't bore you with too much detail. I'll just share some of the highlights with you.










First, I just want to say that I love being a wife and mom! Sure it sounds a little cheesy, but it's so true! I've never done anything harder or more demanding, but on the flip side I've never experienced something so fulfilling and exciting. Dustin is still doing really well in school. I'm so proud of him for all of the responsibilities that he's taken on. He's a husband, dad, student, and employee.


Kate has been crawling like a maniac and loves to stand up. I'm sure she'll be taking steps soon. Scary! Also, and MOST IMPORTANTLY, she's been saying "mama." Sure she mostly says it when she's tired or hungry, but I'll take what I can get. Now we're working on "dada." Kate and I have also started swim lessons at the Provo Rec Center. Kate loves the water, but not when she has to go under. Poor baby. But she's having fun and starting to learn some good skills. The best thing about this is the time we get to spend together.


On Sunday Dustin and I spoke at a stake youth fireside. It was a little scary for me, but it went really well. It was great to be able to share my testimony. I spoke about the temple and Dustin spoke about his experiences. I never thought I would speak at a fireside, but I guess that happens when you marry Joseph Smith.

Ok, I'm almost done. I swear! For book club this month we read John Adams by David McCullough. It was long, but I am so glad that I read this book. It has made me become even more grateful for our Founding Fathers and everything that they sacrificed so that we could have the freedoms we enjoy today. I look forward to voting in this upcoming election so that my voice may be heard. I feel like it is my duty as an American citizen to support and uphold the Constitution in any way that I can. Dustin and I have decided to become more familiar with it. I love this country and pray that we will stay true to the principles it was founded upon! We love you all!

Pictures

Here are a couple more pictures I found on the computer. We went camping this summer with Mel, Andy and Vader. The one of Dustin is fantastic!

Blog Discovered!!

Hey Everyone! I (Kim) just found a blog that Dustin created right after Kate was born. I've wanted to get into blogging, so here we go! That was easy enough. I'm not promising that this blog will be entertaining, but I'll try my best to keep people interested!

We're now living in Pleasant Grove, UT with Dustin's grandparents. We're on a waiting list for some apartments in Provo. No. 3 on the list isn't too bad, so hopefully we'll get to move in soon.

Dustin is going to school at Utah Valley University and also working part-time at Buckle, a retail store in Provo. Sometimes he works pretty late, but the 40% discount sure makes it easier to handle.

Kate and I are at home together. I feel like we're both learning so much from each other! She's crawling like crazy, has a tooth coming in, and is just such a joy. The pictures that I put up are from July. I still need to figure out how to upload recent pictures from our camera onto the computer.

Love you all and hope you enjoy our blog!




Kate and her Grandpa Rex. Two peas in a pod!

she was 7 pounds and 15 ounces, and 20 inches long! she is so cute!

on the 29th of january our little kate was born!