Update from Austin!

Hey everyone! I finally had some time on the computer to write about what's going on in Austin and how life and work is. First off, the family is really great so far! Caleb, who is three, is just adorable! Today he started randomly saying, "Tanks fowa being my fwend" which, honestly, melts my heart! He has a dimpled grin and these big brown eyes. He's definitely a boy who likes to wrestle and play and run, but he is also a snuggle bug through and through. He is one of the easiest kids (along with his sister) to put to bed. I read him a few stories before naps (usually Chicka Chicka Boom Boom, Dr. Seuss's ABC book, and Guess Who with Elmo) and then I lay him down and that is that...he rolls over and essentially falls asleep right there. No tears, no fussing, no fight! I am spoiled! But it's the hours that he is awake that make up for the easiness of his going to sleep. He rarely speaks when he isn't whining or raising his voice, he repeats the same phrase about 20 times despite any attempts at consoling or understanding, and, my favorite, he puts his little hand in my face and yells, "Don't say dat to meeee!" And then, if that weren't enough, he sleeps for two solid hours at least giving me a wonderful break in the middle of the day to do whatever work (or rest) I need. Eiliana (pronounced Haley Ana...without the "H") is eight years old, a gold belt in martial arts, and a girl through and through. She reminds me a lot of Tavy with the energy, the way she talks like a baby when she wants something, and the way she hangs all over me whenever we are in the same room. She's pretty fun and good natured, but she is certainly a challenge in that she struggles with staying focused in school and with homework, she lacks the needed work opportunities that I was blessed with growing up, and desperately wants attention and affection from her parents but doesn't have the opportunity to receive it.

The parents though are pretty good so far. The last couple of working days have been somewhat awkward simply because one of them have been home consistently but regardless of that, it's great with them. Monte, the dad, told me that I don't need to ask about using the car when I'm not on duty and he is also pretty laid back with how I manage the kids. He is particular in the end result with them however. He wants me actively involved in Eili's school work and to teach her the importance of her actions now. He is very much about the consequences that come from his kids' action and inaction. Nalie, the mom, is more...demanding when it comes to the kids. She has very high expectations of me and is constantly telling me how to do things and what to do with them. It is to be expected though, so I don't mind it much. I do my best to follow her instructions and still find ways to be myself with Caleb and Eili.

I have a private bedroom and bathroom with a walk-in closet (WOOT WOOT!!!) and a car that I have for my personal use...an amazing silver '08 Audi that drives like a dream and is just pretty! My bedroom is gorgeous! The bedding is so pretty and the walls are a golden yellow with black picture frames and a black bookshelf as the accents. The bed is a queen sized bed and it's actually the same bed as the one Mom and Dad have...with the pine cone looking things on it...I think it's the one in the guest room, if I remember correctly. They have a baby grand piano that is one of the most beautiful things I've ever seen! They have a home theatre room, complete with awesome surround sound, big screen, and over-head projector. The house is really an amazing thing to see...it's insanely gorgeous and well furnished.

The singles ward is also great so far! I had lots of people come up and introduce themselves to me within the first hour of church and right after Sacrament meeting I was set up with FHE information as well as meeting both counselors in the Bishopric. I am yet again, one of the youngest members in the ward, but I'm used to it. So far it reminds me a lot of the ward I attended in Alexandria except that I'm not as intimidated by this group. Pretty much everyone is very friendly and warm which makes it easy to feel welcome and a part of the ward.

I got to see Juliana Herzog this weekend and I expect to be seeing more of her in my time in Austin. I don't think I'll be getting much time off for Christmas so I'll be heading over to her house for Christmas. Ju says hi to everyone (that she knows, anyway) and Rachel sends her love as well...especially to you, Mom. And for now, I guess that's it. I can't think of anything else to write about...I hope you are all doing well! Love you and miss you all! And when I get pictures of the kids, I'll post them so you can see how cute these two are! :)

Halloween!

I want to see everyone's Halloween costumes or just pictures if you were lame and didn't dress up. This was our little pirate family! And yes I know Madison looks like a boy, next year i think well go with the princess theme so she can wear pink!

Thanksgiving

Assuming everyone is able to make it home to Florida for thanksgiving, we thought it would be a good idea to do a family pictures since the Woods have not been all together for over five years and the one family picture I do have is really cute but old!!

I wanted to prepare everyone for this event, because it will be an event I will make sure of that! I thought it would be fun to coordinate at least a little since the very well could be the only family picture for another 5 years!!

Mom suggested a park near the house as a good setting, and she is going to talk to some friends that might be able to take the pictures for us.

My thoughts were to get input into the coordination part so that people can bring the proper attire, if necessary.

I scrounged up some examples from the internet to get your feed back on colors or if you think it would be best to not coordinate that much... of course we could just go with the Hawaiian shirt theme and make it a tradition...

Mandy's blog

Sorry to anyone that tried to go to Mandy's blog yesterday and got really confused like I did! She gave me the wrong address! IT has now been updated and you can check it out at your leisure. Now you just need to post on it Mandy!

Our Newest Addition to the Family

Scott and I decided to take the plunge and bring my 3 year old dog Sydney to come and live with us. We've been watching a lot of the "Dog Whisperer" lately so we already feel like we're professional dog trainers. She's learned how to walk on a leash and sits before and after going out for a walk or to potty. Scott also likes to take her roller blading and we think she likes it too....well...you can watch the video and judge for yourself:




And we play all kinds of games with her...fetch, tug of war, and - our personal favorite - The Wheelbarrow Dog:




Sorry that it's sideways....oops...

We love her. Lots.

My Temple trips

I got to go to the Washington D.C. Temple one morning before work. Traffic was worse than I expected so I was late in arriving and in leaving but I got to do initiatories and it was a great experience. I was reminded of the importance of serving. This is a picture I took right as I was leaving.

Kevin Valverde, one of my best friends, described seeing the Temple from the highway to me. He told me that as you come around a bend in the interstate you look straight ahead and see the Temple almost floating on the trees. Kevin said that it is as if you see your fantasy in the sky right before your eyes.

On the Sunday before I went to the Temple I accidentally got lost as I was coming home from church when the tank of gas was almost empty. I wasn't sure if I was going to make it home and was driving on that road. At one particular point I felt desperate and frustrated I came around that bend in the road and saw the Temple towering before my view. A peace settled in and I felt that I was on the right path and that the tank would get me back home. I did. It was amazing for me.
Later that same week, on Saturday actually, my roommates and I went to the Temple together and we got to do endowments. As I got to the Celestial room I thought of Mom and Dad and how, almost exactly 29 years ago, they were walking through that same room together. My thoughts and feelings dwelt and returned to our family several times while I was there. I thought of my mission as well and the people there. We got out rather late, so this is a picture of the Temple at night.
This is a picture of me at the Temple at night. My camera has no flash, but I still felt like I was beaming.Well hey, I hope all of you are doing great. I love you!

Pictures of Clarke...

All right...this is Clarke. Have fun...

Life in Rexburg...

This is Janelle Gutierrez one of my roommates from the beginning of the semester at the summer formal dance. Together we make a Christmas tree...

This is me, Meagan, and Liz Foster getting ready to go for a run.

That's right! This is me getting to the top of the rock!!! It was so hard but such a rush! And I did it!!! Woot woot!

This is me, Meagan, and Bonny O'Connor going rock climbing with some local Rexburg boys. We were all hard core that day! It was such fun!
This is Corey Brassard, one of my FHE brothers and my tender Katie Buckley. Both people are great and way fun!
This is Meagan Sly, one of my closest buddies out here. She is just wonderful in every way!!!

First I feel like I need to say sorry to Emily for not keeping on top of this whole blogging thing...life has been busy lately so I haven't felt like I've had the time to really update with everything going on. And for the record I think it's a great idea...but I have a little bit of time right now, so I thought I'd give a really quick update with what's going on with me.

This past semester I've had the chance to be a part of Savior of the World which is a presentation of the Savior's birth and His resurrection. It's been one of the longest rehearsal schedules I've participated in and it's been stressful and really difficult at times, but it has also been one of those things that is worth it all! This week are the performances and it's so great to be able to share this with an actual audience. It's been a really incredible experience to be part of...I've learned a lot about not only acting and performing but also about the Savior. The way certain scenes are depicted it brings a really interesting new light to how I feel about the church and the Savior. Pretty much...the church is true!

Um...also...just so ya'll know...as a result of being part of this production, I met a really great guy and we started dating...which is pretty fun! I also owe a lot of my dating growth or comfort level to Emily, so thanks for all those hours talking about it with me! :) But...um...his name is Clarke. He's from Texas. He's a business major and he's really sweet. I don't know what all you want to or need to know about him...if you want pictures I think I can come up with some, but I wasn't sure...so yeah!

The semester is almost over (YAY!!!) and I can't wait. It's been a semester filled with lots of new experiences and chances to grow and learn more about everything. I've been blessed in so many ways because of where I'm at and who I've been able to surround myself with. Right now my plans are to move back home for the fall and work...I don't know where yet, but I'll figure all that out when I get there. I'm so excited about the future right now. Things have certainly been hard this semester, but I also have learned to appreciate the struggle even if I don't see the light at the end of the tunnel right away. Okay...I think that's about it for me. I hope you are all doing well! Here's just a few pictures of what I've been up to lately...hope you are all well!

Yummy Cakes!

I've had the opportunity to make a couple cakes in the past few months and thought I would share. The first cake that I made was for a friend's wedding. It was a nightmare because I had not made a cake in almost a year, plus it was the week after Scott and I got back from our Honeymoon so we were still unpacking. Needless to say, I got it finished and the end result was great. This is the biggest cake that I've made thus far, so I was pleased that it stood straight and flat.

The design was a four tiered cake, white fondant, with scrolling around the top. The inside was chocolate cake with buttercream icing. mmmmm.......Yummy!

I may look happy making the cake. But this is really how I felt:

Close up of the design detail: Final Product!

Yup, that's one good looking cake.

I also made a belated birthday cake for Tavy. Probably a bit over the top for an 8 year-old, but honestly, I was looking for an excuse to get creative. I hope that Tavy liked it, I made it just for him.

Well, look at that! A thumbs up!

And a close up:

Originally I was going to put up instructions complete with pictures showing how I made Tavy's cake. I even uploaded all of the pictures off of the camera last night and put them onto my jump drive....well, I thought I did. I got into work today and saw that all of them were not on there even though I'm almost positive I made sure they were. Oh well, I figure that if anybody really wants to see how the cake was made they would speak up and then I would find some personal time at home to do this sort of thing.

Congratulations Scott!!

Im sorry we were not able to be there but I hope you know we were thinking about you! Congratulations and good luck with the the next few weeks as you begin your new phase of life! We love you and can't wait to see you and share your special day!

I just wanted to congratulate you in public so that anyone else missed the opportunity to say something this could give them the opportunity too!

Happy Birthday Phil!!

I just love birthdays it give me the opportunity to tell that person how much I love and appreciate them!

Phil you are so wonderful for so many reasons its hard to really put it in to words. I do want to let you know that you are an amazing father and the way you are with Madison just makes me so grateful I am married to you! I also appreciate how hard you work for our family not only at your job and around the house but how strong you are spiritually and how you support our family through the priesthood! Thank you for being you and a wonderful husband!

Happy Birthday and I hope you have a wonderful day because you deserve it!

Fun times!

So I don't know how many of you will actually appreciate the randomness and coolness of this but I just wanted to share...so yeah! Do any of you remember the Mortensens from California? Mom and Dad used to sing with Brother Mortensen and Sister Mortensen was a crazy good dancer...well anyway! Their son, Eric, ended up being in my ward out here in Rexburg and I met him like my second week here! So, here's some pictures of him and my roommate Suzanne at a little shin-dig party thing he had tonight as a break from finals...hope you all are doing well! Take care and enjoy!

Sadie Hawkins!

So...this is just for fun! I went to Sadie Hakins last week and thought you'd at least like get a kick out of the pictures. Um...the other girl in the picture is Meagan a girl in my ward. And my date is a guy in my Book of Mormon class. Um...things are good out here in Idaho. It snowed this week (again...grrr) and school is winding down. I've got finals in a week (YAY!!!) and it's going pretty well! So yeah! That's about it. Enjoy! Hope you are all doing well! Love you all!

Engaged!!

I wanted to share the exciting news that Amanda, our sister and daughter is ENGAGED!!!

FAMILY!

I know this may be a little to cheesy or sentimental for most of you but I want you to know how much I love family! It is hard to be so far away from family this is why I am so excited that we will have family here now, thats right, right here in good old Virginia. I know you are are all so jealous! No official announcement was made about Dad's new job so I figured I would fill the void, even though I am sure most of you knew this long before I did. Dad has a new job (he can fill you in on the exciting stuff, I am just glad its close by.)
We had the privilege to have him over for lunch on Sunday... ok so now your jealous! I believe if I am not mistaken Mom and Tavy should be joining us as soon as the school year is all finished up! YAY for family! YAY for built in babysitters!! If you are not jealous yet let me just outline a few highlights of having family live close by.

1. Babysitting! (I may have mentioned this one already)
2. You can see them when you want to and for as long or short and needed!
3. No expensive holiday plane tickets! (no excuse for not showing up either)
4. Built in Friends. If you are ever short of something to do on a Friday night you can always go hang out at their house so you feel like you have a social life!!!
5. Sunday Dinners (that is if Dad decides he wants to cook for us, because we don't want to break tradition and me actually cook for him... you can ask him for details!) Maybe we will just have to wait for Mom to move up here!
6. Comfort, its nice to know there is someone around you can call if something ever happens and they will be there at a moments notice.
7. Did I mention having a free babysitter?

So despite the fact that you all think I am being very sarcastic, I am not, and I am very excited about this new development. I am sure Scott and Celeste will miss them all dearly but I'm sure they will get over it eventually! I want to say welcome Dad, and soon to be Mom and Tavy, to our part of the world!

Now I know you are jealous!

Y'alls Family Reunion

And I can say that it's y'alls because I'm still not part of the family...yet.

It is OFFICIAL!
The Second Biennial Blackwelder Reunion is
July 10th - 14th
@
Meeman - Shelby State Park
in
Memphis, TN.

Clear your calendars and plan to attend for lots of FUN & EXCITEMENT!!!!!!!

More information to follow, send RSVP's & questions to Leigh - jadamandleigh@aol.comInfo will be posted on the family website @ http://groups.msn.com/Family-APB(Note: It is members only - apply for membership if not a current member - I can assure your acceptance!) Send Danielle Cogbill me current pictures PLEASE! (daniellecogbill@hotmail.com)

What does "biennial" mean? It sounds like some sort of procedure....

I know, Emily, it's about time!

Well, Emily has been on my case long enough that I figured the least I could do is to post on the blog with some updates...

As you all saw, Celeste and I took engagement pictures and are working on getting the invitations out. The two she sent out were a couple of goofy ones...well, I want to post a couple of my favorite.

I wanted to find a way to send these two out with the invitations, but Celeste and I determined they wouldn't be the best pictures for that purpose. So, pretty much, you'll just have to wait and see the pictures we chose.

We took the pictures outside the Utah County Mental Hospital...I thought that was pretty funny. I think they turned out great. I like the plain white backgrounds in most of them...and the trees are nice too.

In other news, if you all don't know, I got in a car accident in which my beautiful Sentra was totaled...luckily no one was hurt. I mean, I jumped out of the car steaming mad without a second thought after the crash. I was a little sore afterward, but nothing too bad. I guess you're probably wondering how it happened, so I guess I can tell you.

I was driving back from the International Auto Expo (go figure!) held in Sandy. Now, it had snowed the night before, but the snow had been cleared from the roads the whole day. It was around three in the afternoon and I was traveling south on State St in Provo when it happened. I was approaching an intersection where, for whatever reason, traffic was backed up in the left lane. I was in the center lane going 35 mph because there was no one in front of me (posted speed limit was 45, so I thought I was still being safe...). As I started passing the backed up traffic in the left lane I noticed someone 6 or 7 cars ahead of my position pulling into the center lane (my lane) from the left. I hit the brakes as hard as I would have needed to in order to stop (which was lot regardless of the road conditions) and my car slid into his...he had a Chevy Avalanche, so my car went under his and you can see the damage. Then as we slid to a stop, a third vehicle hit my back bumper and she went into the wall on the right side of the road. Luckily, between all of us there were no injuries and we all walked away fairly unshaken.

Needless to say, my car was totaled and my insurance company (Geico) has taken care of me well to this point.

Which brings me to my next topic...my new car. Because I got a really good deal on my Sentra, I actually owed less on the car than it was worth, so I am going to get some money back from the insurance company after they pay off the remainder of my car loan. This caused me to start thinking about what I should do about a new car. While I had the option to wait until I move to Florida to buy a new one, I decided this wouldn't work because I would have to find a way to get my stuff to Florida when I graduate and I don't think flying would allow me enough room to fit everything (to which Phil and Emily can attest...that I have a lot of stuff). I thought about it and decided to make a decision that would benefit me for a long time, so I decided to upgrade a little. I got a little bigger car, with more interior space, and a bigger but still practical size engine.

Because I'm not working much at the moment, I had to fight for financing, but because of my job after I graduate and the money I got from Geico, I was able to make it work to where I make the same exact payment I made with my Sentra and I didn't have to put anything down. So, anyway, I realize these are extraneous details that y'all probably don't care about, but I'm kinda proud that it has all worked out as well as it has, and I dare-say this crash has been a little bit of a blessing in disguise...although I wouldn't recommend the hassle and headache involved to anyone. So here are some pictures of the new car:

I know it looks really fancy, but I got a really good deal on it, so I'm really not paying all that much more than I was before. That's another story; the owner of the dealer where I purchased the car just happened to be the only one there when I came to look at it and we chatted a bit and he talked about the time he spent as a Bishop of one of the student wards at BYU and then he told me what he could do with the price of the car and since I had been looking around, I knew it was a great price. All I had to do was drive it a couple of times and I was sold...that's all I got. I'm sure my mom and Celeste can talk more about the wedding plans if anyone is interested, but I will leave all of that to them.

Thanks Emily for staying on my case...I guess I wrote a little more than I expected, so I would say that I've pretty much taken care of my share of blogs for a couple years! Whaddya think? :)

I love you all, I'm doing well, and looking forward to seeing you all as the year goes on.

Hot Nearlyweds

I've decided to pick up the slack for my extremely busy fiance (he doesn't even have time to eat these days) and post some pictures that Emily has been waiting to see for over a month.

These were just two of the rejects (the photos, not the people in them) from our engagement picture photo shoot.

Scott's been working out...can you tell?

My signature Blue Steel look.

...I'm probably going to regret posting these. Anyway, I just hope the wedding pictures turn out better.

Maybe this will help!

I added all of you to the comment email list so anytime there is a comment on the blog you will get an email! Maybe this will make it more fun and keep everyone informed a little better! Like a reminder! I love you all and hope you had a great Valentines day!

Valentines Day!

I was trying to get a cute valentines day picture to post but she wasn't cooperating! I figured I would just share the whole series because it was pretty funny in its self. Love you guys hope you have a great Day!

Happy Valentines Day!!!

Happy Birthday Dad!

I just wanted to say happy birthday to Dad and let him know how much we enjoy spending time with him! Thank you for your love and support! Some of my favorite things about Don are, that he loves to be with his family, I love to watch him with Madison, you can see the love he has for her when he lets her drool all over him!

I also enjoy talking to him one on one when I get the chance! Thanks for everything and I hope you have a wonderful Birthday!

Love Emily

Hey, just wanted to let yall know that you missed my latest production. I was Miss Vidalia, part of a duo of entertainers on the Hawaiien Cruise Ship U.S.S. Nosinka. It was an adult activity for our ward, a murder mystery night, and I was fabulous if I do say so myself! I got to wear sparkles and glitter and leopard skin and I even found an overskirt of black giraffe! WOOWEE! I was hot! I think your Dad was horrified but it was really fun to do. Wish you could have all been there. I'll send pictures if anyone took some. Love, Mom

Ugly Sweater!

Mandy may be the only one to truly appreciate this picture, however I wanted to share the irony of this situation with the whole family!

If you will notice the hideous picture that Mandy shared in her most recent post of me, this picture was taken in a dressing room while we were at a clothing store. I had picked up what I thought was the most hideous piece of clothing in the store just to be funny, that is why we took a picture of it in the first place!

To my surprise and utter amusement just last night while at the grocery store you will not believe what I happened to see!


This picture is taken with my phone and the lady did not know I was taking it but I just had to do it and share how hilarious I thought this was!

Anyhow just thought I would share my delight to hopefully put a smile on your face today!

Im all for second chances!

I guess I give in as I did get a positive response from my last petition for posts! But I am still expecting at least one post from you boys, Scott I think you get a pass since you did email me! But Phil, Grandpa Don and Aaron you guys don't get off so easy! I know Aaron and Dad you guys at least have pictures you could share! Ok now I'm done, I will stop nagging I promise!

I thought this was pretty cool! I thought you guys might enjoy this!

I know I already showed this video to some of you but I thought it was really cool! Madison has started crawling or at least she gets it now. She moves her hands and knees at the same time in a forward motion! So I guess you can call it crawling. She is getting better and better everyday! This video was right after she did it the first time! I was really excited!

you better do it or else!

hey everybody! ya'll need to write to our little emily or i will have to get after you, and you don't want to have me get after you! i am commiting to more blogging and if i can do it more, so can you!!!!!! you all know how computer illiterate i am! this is really great for our family so lets keep it going! i love you all so much. mom

Yay for family blogs!

HI!!! So...I don't want Emily to boycott for too much longer...so I'm going to just say hi and that school is amazing!!! It is so much fun out here in Idaho. The work load is proving to be difficult, but my classes are all wonderful! My teachers are all great and the classes are all pretty much enjoyable. So yeah! Here's just a few pictures...the snow one is the most descriptive. That's what it looks like and does what feels like 24/7...so anyways! Enjoy and that's about it! Love you all! Hope you are all doing wonderfully!!!

Oh...and the one of you Em...I had forgotten about it and when I saw it again it was too priceless not to post because you are a hot mama!!! Love you so much!!! Muahahaha!!!