Thanksgiving...and getting ready for CHRISTMAS!!

So, Travis's family got to come up to visit us for Thanksgiving break. It was really fun to have them. We hadn't seen them in so long!! Thanks a ton for the trip you guys!

Here are a few cute pics from the last couple of weeks.

Russell, Aunt Hayley, and I

Alright, so we let him open a few presents early so that we don't have to drag them around on our trip. Needless to say, Russ loves all of his new toys. I walked in the room one day to find this:

Hey! Plumbers make a lot of money. He'd make a great plumber because he likes to play in the toilet! Let the kid chase his dreams.

This is my studly little man waiting for me to get his car seat situated. He got a little impatient standing there, so he decided to take a rest against this parking sign. Don't you love the cute hat Grandma bought him? He wears it everywhere now.

This is our latest family picture.

PLEASE don't make me sit on this strange man's lap!

Fine! You got me, but I'm not happy about it!! (I just love the scowl on this face. It reminds me of..................me! The apple doesn't fall far from the tree.)

Happy Birthday, Travis!!!!!!

I recieved a husband tag from Heather, and it was perfect timing because today is Travis's birthday!!! Yay!! So here we go.


1. What is his name? Travis Reed Moulton (Reed is a third generation name. Well, I guess that Russell Reed makes it fourth generation.)


2. Who eats more? This is embarrassing...but a lot of times...me!! NOT ALWAYS!!!! But Travis does have a lot more self control when it comes to food and sweets.

3. Who said, "I love you," first? Travis did. He said it after we had been dating for a few months and were walking around the greenbelt. I wasn't quite ready to say it back yet, but I did anyway so that I wouldn't hurt his pride. (Hee. Hee. I don't think he even knows that. Don't worry Trav, I got ready soon after!!)


4. Who is taller? Travis


5. Who is smarter? A tie!! Obviously Travis is a smarty. He's in med school! But I always remind him that I could've been a doctor just as easily as him!! He is really good at strategy games like Chess and Stratego. (I only beat him every once in a while.) I'm probably better with reading/writing type stuff. I alway revise and edit his essays for him. But I am so proud of him because he is doing very well in school, and I know lots of people are struggling.

6. Who is more sensative? Me...for sure. Travis can be sensative too, but not enough to overshadow his manliness! But he is definately sensative to my needs and feelings.


7. Who does the laundry? Me!! I am a stain-removing magician!! Travis helps when I need it, though. He takes out the garbage.


8. Who sleeps on the right side of the bed? Travis. But we really switch around depending on our room situation. Travis is a sweetie and always lets me have the side that has more room to the side of it. So selfless!

9. Who pays the bills? Travis used to, but now that he is busy with med school, I do.


10. Who cooks more? Me. I love to plan out weekly menus, shop, and cook. I know that many of you women must think that I'm crazy, but it's a thrill!!


11. What meals do you cook together? Chicken Parmasian. A meal first introduced to our family by Travis!


12. Who is more stubborn? BOTH, but not so much that it gets in the way of our relationship. We can both give a little...depending on the issue.


13. Who wears the pants in the relationship? Well, I think that Travis mostly wears them, but I follow him around trying to put one of my legs in too. We really are perfect for each other because neither of us overshadows the other. We really have a great balance. And I needed a really complicated blend of a strong, manly man that at the same time allows me to be strong and opinionated too. Travis does exactly that!

14. What do you like to do together? Everything!! camp, rock-climb, hike, bowl, soccer, art, watch movies. We even read the last Harry Potter book out loud to each other!! But there are things that we can't do together. Dance. My dancing embarrasses Travis, and when we do couple's dances, I can't follow his lead. Clean. We have different cleaning styles. I like to do it all at once- even if it takes all day. Travis doesn't. Shop. Travis can be incredibly immature when we shop. He HATES it.


15. Who eats more sweets? Me. Hands down.

16. Guilty Pleasures? King of Queens and ice cream. American's Funniest Home Videos. Movie nights. Scookies.


17. How did you meet? At a blind "hang-out session" at BYU-Idaho. He actually didn't go to school there. He was just visiting from Jackson Hole to meet "chicks." Ironically, I almost didn't even go. It was the turning point of my life. That night I almost went shopping in IF instead. I stood in the parking lot thinking, "Which one, which one?" I reluctantly chose to go to the party because I thought, "Maybe I'll meet a cool guy." Good thing, or my life would be completely different right now.


18. Who asked out who? Well, he was scared, so after the party, his friends knocked on my door and asked me for my phone number. Normally I would have said, "Drop dead!!" But I was REALLY attracted to his curly red-brown hair (and him too). I always dreamed of marrying a man with curly red-brown hair.

19. Who kissed who first? He kissed me, of course. But I set up the scenario by asking him to take me for a nice drive up to Inspiration Point in Jackson Hole. By the way, we dated for three months before we even kissed once!!!

20. Who proposed? Travis of course! We went sledding at night and he lit the hill on fire with the words, "I love you!" How romantic...and original! Love that boy!


21. His best features? I can't pick. The most obvious...his georgeous hair...I've had lots of women tell me that they want to run their fingers through it. But also his plump lips, sense of humor, personality, and manly physique.


22. What is his best quality? This guy is the best dad and the best husband. He spends lots of time playing with Russ. Really sitting down on the floor and giving Russ his full attention. He makes Russ feel so loved and happy. He is also so good to me. Always kind, helpful, patient, and supportive. He is so easy to talk to. We tell each other everything. Each day when he comes home, we are just bursting to relate the news of the day to each other. He is my perfect man and my best friend. When we first got married, I had several of my old friends come up to me and say, "I always wondered what kind of guy you would end up with, and then I saw Travis and it just makes so much sense." It really does make so much sense. You can tell from these crazy pictures that we are so much alike. Marrying Travis was the wisest decision I ever made. I am so glad that I put off those cold and unapproachable vibes to boys for all those years, because I was saving all my energy and love for you, Travis!! Happy 27th Birthday!!

I tag: Kathy, Amy (ha ha!), Melinda, and Natalie

To Boise and Back!!!

So, we found out that Travis had Monday and Tuesday off of school, so we just HAD to go somewhere!! We decided to drive to Boise to visit my Brother, Beau, and his family. It was so much fun, and we really needed the break. We did some Christmas shopping, ate at P.F. Changs, and even convinced my early to bed early to rise brother to stay up late and play some card games with us! (He had fun, although it did throw him off schedule a little.) Russell of course had a blast playing with his three little cousins, even though he was the only boy. (Now that's the life!) Here are some photos and explanations of our past couple of weeks.

Russell and Daddy rough-housing. There is a lot of rough-housing in our family. Lots of people (and their glasses) get hurt!

K- so this is Russ and me waiting in line at P.F. Changs. We had to wait for an hour and a half!!! But we had a gift card that we needed to use up, so we decided to wait anyway. Russ was a trooper. The best part was this: One of the hosts overheard me talking to another guest about how it was my first time eating there and that we did not realize that we should make reservations. I said that I wasn't sure that the food would be worth all the hassle. So while we were eating, the host came up to us and apologized and bought us free dessert! And boy was it a yummy dessert! Fried bananas with coconut ice cream and caramel!!! YUMMMMM! This place is delicious and has a fun atmosphere. Try it, but don't forget to make reservations!!

This was Russell when we were 20 minutes outside of Boise. He was done traveling!!! He screamed the rest of the way there!

These are soooo fun. We made these at Beau and Rachel's. It is something that they do as a family every year, and I think we will make it a tradition too. These are gourd people. You make them out of hot glue, gourds, and whatever other objects you find around the house. If you can't tell, the one on the left is Travis. He has a Stethascope. And of course that pear-shaped beauty on the right is me!!!

Okay, so this is a random picture of a wreath that I bought for 5 dollars at a second hand store. What a deal! It looks so great on our front door. I knew that I was holding out at all those craft stores for a good reason.

Love y'all!!

Halloween!!

Hey, ya'll. We didn't dress up for Halloween. We thought that it might cause serious psychological damage to Russ. But we did take Russ Trick-or-Treating!! We also had a fun party where we watched a scary movie after the kids went to bed. Fun! Fun! I love Halloween.

This is Russ cuddling with Daddy when daddy was trying too study. Awwww...isn't that sweet?

Our little family trick-or-treating. Russell was really into it. He would knock on the door by himself and then he would say, "trick-or-treat" and "thank you" after he got the candy (with a small prompt from us). We knew it was time to go home when he started screaming because he wanted to start eating his stash.

October FUN!!

So, a lot has been happening lately as we have been preparing for HALLOWEEN!!! We love October!!!

We carved pumpkins!! Sorry, we did not get any good pictures of them yet. Russ thought the seeds were kind of gross. He kept trying to wipe off his hands.

For some reason, Russell would not eat his turkey and vegetables this day unless they had whipped cream on them! STINKER!! (I usually would have said no to this, but I was being a softie.)

Well, I turned 25 on the 22nd. It was very depressing. I feel very old like I'm going to croak any minute. I asked for pumpkin pie instead of a cake.

My wonderful husband, Travis, got me some awesome presents. This new duvet cover, and these cool Puma shoes. Love 'em!! And these pictures are presented to you by my inlaws who got me this new camera!! Thanks Moulton Fam!!

We went to our ward Halloween party on the 26th. It was so much fun. I went as a deranged plumber, Travis went as a deranged redneck, and Russ went as a pumpkin. Here we are! What a special little family. The ward sure is glad we moved in!!

I know. Creepy, huh? People in our ward hardly recognized us. The whole thing kinda freaked Russell out. Someone in our ward dressed up as Sarah Palin, so I went up to her, shook her hand, and said, "Hi, I'm Joe the plumber." (Of course I said this in a really creepy voice and stuck my teeth out.) She said, "Nice to finally meet you, Joe." So I said, "Ya, know. My taxes are so high I can't afford dental insurance and look what happened to my teeth. You'd better get to work." It was great fun.

Russ hit the mother load at the trunker-treat!!

All right. I was tagged by my dear, sweet friend, Kathy. So here goes...


5 Favorite Places I've Lived:

(I've only ever lived in 5 places.)

1. Coltman, Idaho (outside of Idaho Falls), lovely farm community
2. Rexburg, Idaho (Tough Idahoans like me flourish in the cold weather.)
3. Provo, Utah (Go BYU!! We lived right across from the stadium and went to every game.)
4. Pleasant Grove, Utah (A land of many deer. They were in our back yard all the time.)
5. Yakima, Washington (A very fruity place.)

I have loved every place that I have lived for different reasons.

5 Favorite Snacks That I Love:

1. fresh fruit...especially peaches!!
2. green peppers dipped in ranch
3. apples or bananas dipped in peanut butter
4. ice cream!! (pranlines and caramel or oreo or mint choc. chip)
5. oreos

5 Jobs That I Have Had:

(I have had some of the WORST jobs on the planet!!)

1. assembly line worker (I tighted caps on lotion bottles for almost 8 hours straight!)
2. phone survey taker (At 3 separate places...Let's say a lot of people chewed me out.)
3. farm laborer (Thanks, dad! I actually enjoyed this job!)
4. waitress at Pizza Hut
5. TEACHER!!!! Yay!!

If I Had A Million Dollars I Would:

1. invest it wisely so that it would take care of my family and me for the rest of our lives.
2. travel with Travie Wavie and Russy Roo. (We'd leave the kid home sometimes.)
3. save up for the home of my dreams. (Not too extravigant, mind you...but definately nice.)
4. buy a very nice wardrobe for me and a truck for Travis.
5. donate to one of those programs that takes care of orphaned and sick kids in 3rd world countries. (Those info-mercials break my heart!!! I always cry!!)

Things That I Love:

1. my family and friends
2. sports, recreation, and exercise (especially soccer)
3. crisp, cool weather, autumn, Halloween, Thanksgiving
4. reading a good book
5. good food

I Tag:

1. Amy Ward
2. Natalie Moulton
3.Heather Hawkins

New Toys for Russy-Roo and Other Updates

I got a calling everyone! I am the new primary pianist!!!! It's a good thing Travis got me that keyboard last year for Christmas. I know. I know. You are all thinking about how I am not the best piano player and an even worse practicer. Your accusations are all true. But there are only about three people in our entire ward who play the piano, and they were desperate. I figure that primary is a good place to start getting over my fear of playing in front of people. This will probably be the hardest calling that I've had so far. Pray, family and dear friends. Pray.

I have also become the vice president of the medical schools spouses and significant others association. We plan all kinds of activities and fund raisers and service projects. I am also the chairsperson of the book club. Yay!!

Travis is a senate member of student councel, and he is in charge of intramurels (typical) and is also a communication channel between students and staff when it comes to rotations and residencies.

Travis and I play on an indoor soccer league every Wednesday. Fun! Fun!!

Travis is about to get a new calling too, but I won't tell what it is until next week!

Here are some new pics.



So last night I was browsing on Craigslist, and I found a killer deal. I've been looking everyday for a while now because I wanted some fun outdoor toys for Russ. Well, I found what I was looking for and more!! This really nice family was selling both of these for a price that I normally found for just one toy.



And then the family threw these in for free just because they are nice. They even drove it to our house in their truck. How sweet are they!! Russell and I are ecstatic. Now he will have plenty of stuff to occupy his attention in the back yard.

P.S. Don't you love his faux hawk?

Fall in Yakima

Sorry that it has been so long. We haven't taken many pictures as of late. The fall weather in Yakima is wonderful. It's got that perfectly fresh chill in the air without being freezing. My friend Kathy and I are still working out each morning in the chilly air.




This is a picture taken of us at Travis's white coat ceremony. The white coat symbolizes purity and power. He also got his stethoscope, opthalmascope, and otoscope. He is constantly using these tools to make sure that we are healthy. Apparently though, Russell and I are lacking in the brain department because Travis's stethoscope did not detect any brain noises.


Russ got into my lipstick. It might look like he was trying to wear it, but he was only trying to eat it. Come on! Boys don't wear lipstick!!!


This is Russell waiting for Daddy to come home from school. At around 5:00 everyday he comes to the window to wait. On this day he decided to crawl into his hamper too.



This is Russ moldeling his new Sunday clothes. Aren't my boys so handsome!!!

Domestic Diva

So since I live in the land of fruit, I've busied myself with canning and freezing all that I can. I have canned peaches, made frozen fruit cocktail, frozen bags of apple and peach pie filling, and dried apples! I know. I know. You are all amazed. Here are the fruits of my labor.





This is my freezer. All that on the right is frozen fruit goods that will last us for a year...hopefully. When people try my fruit cocktail, they always beg for more, so it might not last that long.



This is my "little baker" in his new apron helping me peel apples to dry them in a dehydrator I borrowed. What a cutie!



Russ and I having fun. I am the least photogenic person I know. Here is a sample of that with my flaring nostrils.



And this is a beautiful double-crusted peach pie that I baked all by myself!! I was so proud because the crust turned out just wonderfully.