Stapleton Family

June 2009 to December 2009

2011-12-15T21:46:00.001-07:00

Click here to view this photo book larger

Shutterfly allows you to customize your photo book just the way you want.

2010-09-13T14:21:00.008-06:00

So a lot has happened since Natalie turned one. She now can walk, and by walk I mean get into everything. She has learned how to climb onto the table, and cause all sorts of trouble. She also is getting very vocal. She can say things like "daddy", "mommy" "Dew" (meaning Drew), "pwee" (please), "tank hoo" (thank you), among others. Drew continues to grow like a weed, he is in 4T clothes now. Drew also just celebrated his 3rd birthday. A whole slew of pics are dedicated to that below. We have had a busy summer including a Merrill family reunion in Bryce Canyon. Anyways, here is the pictures from the summer.

Watching some kids show, either that or Die Hard, I can't remember...

A picture taken from Bryce Canyon.

Steph made the hike despite having a broken toe.

Josh had a lot of fun on the hike.
We had to put a leash on Drew, since he likes to be independent, and a canyon isn't the best place for a toddler to run around.

Mom and Dad at the reunion.
Natalie eating lasagna I believe.
For Drew's birthday Nana got him a Lightning McQueen bike. It was supposed to be given on his actual birthday but he spotted Josh getting it out of the trunk from a window and that was that. Nana was fine with him getting it early. He hasn't figured out peddling yet, but he still loves his bike.

Our little Cowgirl.
Natalie trying to get into trouble, now that she walks she is very curious.
Steph and Natalie at Logan's first birthday party (Logan is Drew and Natalie's cousin).
Praise the Lord!
Andrew turned 3 on September 12, we had a lot of family over for the occasion. He got a Buzz Lightyear and Sheriff Woody toys and he hasn't put them down yet.
Drew's cake and cupcakes.
Evil Emperor Zurg overlooks Buzz and Woody...

Andrew and Ella enjoy the party.
Woody recognizes when his hat is removed, Drew found this very funny!

Uncle Eric doing his best Michael Jackson impersonation.... Actually they are dropping army parachute toys.

Spencer and Matt ready for the after-party party watching the Bears game!

Natalie's 1st Birthday

2010-06-26T08:02:00.008-06:00

Natalie had her first birthday on June 21st. For her birthday we had family come over and celebrate with us. Unlike Drew on his first birthday she didn't destroy her cake, she nibbled instead (more lady like).

She was a happy camper, she really enjoyed playing with the balloons.
Her tiara didn't stay on, because she constantly pulled it off, here we snapped a quick picture before she ripped it off.
Nana came all the way from PA to hang out with Natalie on her birthday!
This is Natalie's favorite spot. She is constantly chillin' underneath the piano.
Rachel and Matt.
Inger Darden (not pictured John "Richie" Darden)
Mommy and Natalie opening presents.

Drew wishing Natalie a happy birthday. He was excited for her. He kept saying "Natalie's birthday!" all day long!
Drew apparently lost some excitement here.
Drew and Ella.
Natalie checking out her new bookshelf.

Daddy and Natalie playing with balloons.
Aunt Kay Kay (Caitlin) and Natalie.
Uncle Spencer (Britta not pictured) and Natalie.
Stephanie did a great job with the cakes.

Here is a sample of Natalie's 1 year pictures from JCPenney.

2010-06-04T22:00:00.002-06:00

Someone not to be named allowed Drew to dance on the counter top. He only dances to two songs, both of the Hip Hop Variety. This video was taken off a cell phone, so sorry the quality isn't top notch.

Thomas The Train, and hanging In Illinois

2010-06-04T19:52:00.011-06:00

So this first picture is out of order, but neverless Drew loved being on an airplane. He has flown a number of times before but this was the first time he really was excited to be on an airplane.

This next batch of pictures is from our excursion to Thomas the Train in Heber aka The Heber Creeper. We went with our friends the Bradford's whose son is the same age as Drew. Natalie and Drew in this picture were playing with their balloon puppets, Drew got a bear and Natalie got butterfly.During the actual ride Drew and Adam couldn't stop looking over the edge. It was difficult to get Drew to look for a picture. He could've spent all day on the train ride.
Josh had to lean over the edge and look back at Drew for this shot.

Drew with his friends the Bradford kids.

Natalie giving Drew a hug. They can be very loving at times.
Family picture with Mr. Topemhat.

Drew and Adam really enjoyed the tent with all the Thomas toy trains. It was hard to get Drew to leave.

Natalie has a couple of chompers!!! She actually has 4 on the top as well.Drew at Grandma's house making a mess.
Mommy and Natalie at the Byron park.

Great Grandma Jellum with Natalie.
Natalie loves being on the swing, as you can tell.

Drew took this picture all by himself, not too bad!

This was on the way to the town Memorial Day parade. The firetrucks go down the street along with cars carrying veterans. They throw candy out to the kids, and Drew scored big time.

Natalie clapping for those that have protected our country!
Chillin' time.

Eric in the "special swing".

Sunday Pictures

2010-05-19T14:14:00.004-06:00

Nothing too crazy here, just had some nice pictures from last Sunday that we wanted to post on here...

Costa Rica, Spring, and everything else

2010-05-06T10:37:00.010-06:00

Once again it has been a long while since the blog was updated. Since then Josh went with sister Andra on a trip to Costa Rica, Josh also lost his job at Loomis, those (fill in the blank with unkind adjective), and Natalie had her first easter. We also had both Grandma and Nana come to visit. Here are some pics of the last few months.

Andra's motivation for planning this trip to Costa Rica was to see some of the work that our father did done there and meet some of his contacts. Our father put well water pumps in remote areas of the country (mostly jungle areas) where people were drinking contaminated water. He selected areas that were near town centers or schools so that children first and foremost had clean drinking water. The first picture is of our father's closest contact Rolando and his family. They were kind enough to take us out to dinner.

Rotary was the club that sponsored dad's trips down to Costa Rica. Here at this small park there used to be a plaque in his honor but unfortunately it was hit by a car and ruined.

This was one of the places we stayed on the eastern coast.

This is a picture of Volcan Arenal an active volcano in Costa Rica.

Natalie loves books, even if she toys around with them more than anything.

These are some pics from a picnic we took with Rachel and Matt.

We had a dodgeball competition with some friends. Josh had been talking trash for weeks claiming he would dominate, and guess what happened!!! Of course Josh's team won!

Natalie's first Easter!

Drew hugging Uncle Andy.

Drew in search of Easter Eggs.

Just chillin.

Dinner at Spencer and Britta's.

Nana and Natalie hanging out.

Proof that they can coexist!

Drew is in the process of being potty trained, and he loves to wear his "big boy" underwear. He also loves his "Superman" cape! Thanks to Tori for the cape!

Natalie loves going for a ride on Charlie the Horse!

Christmas Pics

2010-01-13T10:43:00.005-07:00

Christmas came and went and here are some pictures from Natalie's first Christmas!

The sibling rivalry has begun! Drew goes for the cheapshot! To be clear Drew never punched Natalie but Josh laughs everytime he sees this one!

Drew and Natalie's cousin Logan on the left.

Natalie and Drew both got new couches from Santa. Drew's was Disney Pixar's Cars and Natalie's was Tinkerbell.

Natalie loves to kiss her mommy, she opens her mouth wide and slobers all over mommy's cheek!

Drew can get into Natalie's crib in lightning speed!

White Sox's #1 Fan!

2009-12-21T22:46:00.004-07:00

So we haven't updated the blog in a while so here are a bunch of pictures from the last month or so of the kids...

All Drew needs is a bow!

Drew decided to help Josh shoveling snow. He loved it! He didn't want to go back inside, although once he stepped into the snow he decided that was enough.

Drew played the role of a sheep in the Merrill family Christmas party Nativity play.

Drew Reading

2009-12-21T22:26:00.002-07:00

Drew showing off his mad reading skills

Family Year 2009

2009-11-13T20:10:00.001-07:00

Click here to view this photo book larger

Shared photo book from Stephanie

2009-11-13T20:07:00.001-07:00

Click here to view this photo book larger

Happy Halloween

2009-11-01T22:59:00.007-07:00

So I realized after posting 20 some pictures that I posted them backwards. Anyways Drew had a great time trick-or-treating. The original plan was to go out for about half an hour, but Drew kept asking to go to more doors, so after 2 hours we called it quits even though Drew wanted to keep going. His bucket got too heavy for him to hold, and by the end Josh was carrying both the bucket and Drew but he kept saying "door" as in to go to another door.

Drew loved looking at all the decorations, and he wasn't phased by the scary ones either.

A crazy hippy drove by!

We started around 6pm and finished after 8!

Drew was a lion, and Natalie was a lady bug this year.

Spencer giving candy to Drew??? Bad idea!

Natalie loves the mirror on the top of the swing.

Steph and Drew at the ward trunk or treat.

Natalie all ready for church a couple of Sundays ago

Fall Update

2009-10-21T10:34:00.008-06:00

Since the San Diego trip we haven't made any other out of state trips, but we have had fun. We were able to take the kids to the Oquirrh Mountain Temple open house. This was a great blessing to see a new temple (it's in our temple district) and to be able to walk through it with Drew and Natalie.

On September 12th (a Saturday) Drew turned two. To celebrate the Stake just happened to have a Stake Primary Party! This included the snow cone Drew is eating in picture below, along with blow up slides, kids fishing games, and all kinds of out door fun. Later that day we opened presents....

Drew's main gift this year was geo trax. It's like a train track but with some cars that are remote controlled and easy to snap together. Plus Geo Trax makes cars from the Disney Pixar movie Cars (which is Drew's favorite). He played with it for about 2 straight hours before looking up long enough to notice we had company over for his birthday.

More b-day pics...

Drew's cake courtesy of Stephanie and Tori Bradford.

Aunt TG (Andra) holding Natalie.

The very next day after Drew's birthday was Natalie's blessing (Sunday September 13th). Here is the cute little girl getting all dressed up for the occasion.

Natalie's blessing cake (alot of yummy cake that weekend!)

Here's our little angel.

Drew has a Mr. Potato head toy that he hasn't quite figured out yet! Someone needs to tell him to put the glasses on Mr. Potato head instead!

With fall comes football season, no doubt who we root for in the Stapleton household!

A couple of weeks ago went down to Salem, UT to get pumpkins at the Red Barn. Here is Drew with Grandpa.

Natalie slept most of the time but she did have a good time snuggling with Grandma.

Ghosts in the pumkin patch!

Drew's highlight was the hay ride!

Britta and Spencer also met us up at the pumkin patch, but I accidently deleted the picture from the blog (will try and fix it later!)

The most recent picture of our now 4 month old little girl! Happy as ever!

Natalie has found her voice

2009-10-21T10:16:00.003-06:00

Here is Natalie last night talking it up. Just in the last few days has she really found her voice and started to jabber.

San Diego Trip

2009-09-12T07:13:00.007-06:00

Last week we were discussing what we wanted to do for Labor Day weekend. Steph mentioned that it would be fun to make quick trip down to San Diego. We thought the idea sounded fun but we dismissed it as we had not planned for it. Friday Sept 4th (last week) Steph once again thought we should just go. After Josh got off work a little early we packed the car and drove down. On the way down, about an hour out of Las Vegas we ran into a flash flood that woke up Drew (Natalie slept through it). We ended up staying the night in a North Las Vegas hotel and finished the trip Saturday morning. The first day we hung out at the hotel, went swimming and got some Mexican food, nothing too crazy as we were fairly worn out from the drive. Sunday we went walking aroung La Jolla cove. You'll notice a good amount of the pictures are from the cove. Drew enjoyed seeing the seals at the cove, but he was scared of loud crashing of the waves. Drew and Josh walked down on the beach and got sand all over their feet. Josh had the bright idea of washing them off when the tide came in. The first time the tide didn't come up close enough to their feet to wash them. So Josh decided to take two steps farther into the ocean. The next time the tide came in it washed their feet and also their shorts as the tide was much higher! After the cove we went to the San Diego temple and walked the grounds. After that we drove north into Josh's mission area and went to the Oceanside Pier (the longest Pier on the west coast). Monday was Sea World. Drew loved the shows especially Shamu and the dolphin shows. For lunch we got tickets for "Dine with Shamu". This was a buffet right next to the killer whale's pool. Natalie and Drew got a close up with the killer whales that was worth the arm and leg that "Dine with Shamu" cost. Monday night we went back to Sea World for fireworks and the night shows. Overall it was a quick trip but a lot of fun. It was the first time we had been to California in the last 4 years.

Welcome Natalie

2009-08-06T09:41:00.008-06:00

Natalie Elizabeth Stapleton was born on Father's Day (June 21st) at 3:08 pm. She was 7lbs 7oz and 20.5 inches long. She enjoys feeding time, napping, and hanging out with her big brother.

One of our first family photographs taken in the hospital. Drew was wearing his "Big Brother" shirt. He was pretty proud!

Drew has yet to give up the binky, in some instances one just isn't enough!

Showing her beautiful hair. She has dark hair that looks slightly red when in the sun.

Josh's 28th birthday, Drew helped blow out the candles.

If you notice in the next picture, Drew is in a major Cars phase. He just can't get enough of Lightning McQueen. Thanks to Grandma Merrill for introducing this movie into his little life. He just gets so excited to see the movie, and it's a good thing that his mom and dad enjoy the movie as well, or we may go crazy!

Drew for the most part is really good to Natalie, although sometimes he does terrorize her, it is mostly done with good intentions.

Drew and Natalie had a lot of fun hanging out in Drew's toddler bed. Anything to delay actually going to sleep. They enjoy laying down together and singing songs with mom before Drew goes to bed. He says, "sing, sing" because he loves music so much. He surprised me the other day by actually joining in and singing a few of the words with me. Music prodigy in the making?

Our beautiful little girl. She has the prettiest eyes!

2009-06-14T14:53:00.002-06:00

Thanks to LeAnn Clark, a nurse I work with, we now have a beautiful diaper bag for our little one. She hand-made this bag, and I am amazed at the craftsmanship of it! The first picture is a little tote that goes into the bag that has 2 pockets: 1 for diapers and 1 for wipes. This is helpful to be able to just pull out if I need rather than bring the whole bag with me! It was a great idea that I have not seen before! Thanks LeAnn!!!!!

Drew dancing to the beat!

2009-06-07T07:48:00.003-06:00

Drew has a love of music and dancing to it. Here he is with Josh's cousin Brian at Caitlin's high school graduation.

Time to catch up

2009-06-07T06:35:00.013-06:00

So it has been a long time since the blog and has been updated, and a lot has happened. Steph's youngest brother Dan went on a mission to Las Vegas, Josh's youngest sister Caitlin graduated from high school, and Josh's brother Spencer got married! Needless to say, the last couple of weeks have been really busy. All this and in a couple more weeks and we will have a new addition to the family!
So if anyone saw a previous blog about Drew getting a toddler bed, here is one of the problems with his new-found freedom. In this instance he was supposed to be taking a nap. He must have decided that his clothes needed rearranging instead, because he pulled all of them out!

Like his daddy, Drew has taken a liking to basketball. Here he is in an intense match with his uncle Dan.

What can we say, the kid loves to dunk!

Elder Merrill, taking the traditional picture outside the MTC right before entering the MTC a couple of weeks ago.

The Merrill clan, Steph, Drew, Eric, Cindy, Dan, Dave, Jared, and Megan.

Steph had a work retreat to Boondocks Family Fun Center. They played mini golf, and she had the family come down to join into the fun.

A couple of Saturday's ago Drew went swimming with his friend Ella, her dad John, and Josh. Drew got all lathered up with sun block, enough to spike his hair!

Last week Drew and Josh went to Indiana for Josh's youngest sister Caitlin's graduation from high school. Here Drew is just chilling on his Nana's couch.

Drew with Caitlin at the open house at a park in Carmel Indiana.

Drew dancing with Josh's cousin Brian.

"Hanging Out" with Josh's cousin Greg.

Aunt Kinnie, Aunt Sandy, Greg, Nana, Drew, Josh, and Grama Voorhies after Caitlin's graduation.

Friday was Spencer's wedding to Britta. While waiting for Spencer and Britta to emerge from the temple we had some time to take some pictures. Here Drew is with his "uncles" Steve and Matt.

Ok so here is some bias, but he's gotta be the cutest kid around!

Drew is all business in his suit!

The new happy couple, Spencer and Britta Stapleton

Doing their best to pretend to like each other.

Spencer, Josh, and Caitlin.

At the wedding dinner at Buca di Beppo's Drew is stuffing his face with some bread.

Josh's sisters, Andra and Caitlin.

Lisa and Roger at the dinner.

Josh's cousin Nathan.

Josh's cousin Zach.

Roger, Andra, and Kevin at the open house in Salt Lake at Britta's sister's house.

Josh is hungry!!!

We were surprised at how many old friends from IL came by including Neal Pearson with his baby daughter.

Britta watching as Spencer sang to her.

Matt and Amber with their boys Treyden, and Chase.

Matt and Rachel.

Easter 2009

2009-04-16T07:58:00.004-06:00

Andrew had quite the eventful Easter weekend. The day before Easter we went to Lindon Utah for a Merrill family Easter party. Unfortunately it was raining so we had an indoor Easter egg hunt. Drew being the youngest of the kids (not including some newborns) was able to go hunting first. He took advantage of the head start and found some good eggs (some had dollar bills in them!). For Easter Drew had a egg hunt in the back yard. He found all 27 eggs! He also got a rocker pony that plays sound as you rock on it. His friend Ella has one and he loves it, so it seemed like a good Easter gift.

The week before Easter we had Caitlin (Josh's sister) come spend her Spring Break with us. Hopefully she didn't get too bored hanging out with us.

Mister Big Boy

2009-04-16T07:49:00.003-06:00

Since the last blog Drew learned how to thrust himself out of his crib. It is quite the fall and luckily he was fine, he didn't even cry. That said we decided it was time to convert his crib to a toddler bed. This has turned out to be quite an adventure. He loves the new freedom of being able to get in and out of his crib. He has tested this freedom at 2AM, 3AM, and other random times at night. He also now like to wake up around 6:30 every morning and run around. We have tried to combat this by closing his door in the morning, but he is content to read his books in his room. Also he has fallen out of the toddler bed a couple of times so we decided to pad the floor with thick blankets directly under the opening of the toddler bed. This has been an adventure for all parties involved, and I fear the adventure is really just beginning.

Your Baby Can Read

2009-04-01T11:36:00.003-06:00

This is the reading set that we have for Andrew. Actually, the one I found a picture of is much more involved than what we have. We got the videos and a few of the word cards (the ones you see Andrew reading) in the set a year ago from Josh's mom for Christmas from Usborne at a decent price but I don't see that they are selling it anymore! So, I would recommend if you are interested in the videos, that you would do a search on Amazon or Ebay for the videos/cards that you may be able to get it for a better price. We have fun with it. I'm thinking about orders the 82 Double-sided Word Cards for Drew, because he seems to know many of the words on the cards that we have now! Leave a comment to let me know if you try it out with your kiddo(s)!

Family Home Evening Talent

2009-03-30T19:13:00.002-06:00

Drew is starting to read. He watches a video every morning after breakfast called "Your Baby Can Read" and he is starting to reconize words on the flash cards that came with the videos.

Home Improvements

2009-03-30T17:21:00.005-06:00

Josh has been in a home improvement mode trying to get the house ready for the baby, and that also means keeping Steph happy. With warm weather hopefully on the way Josh installed a ceiling fan in the master bedroom. Not being much a mister fix it, Josh was quite proud to have installed without breaking anything!

With the baby girl on the way we had to clear out the old office and turn it into a baby room. This meant some rearranging of furniture. In the process Drew gladly gave his dresser to the baby girl and in exchange Josh sanded and painted an old dresser for Drew. Notice if you will Drew requested it to be painted Chicago Bulls colors!

The baby girl's room is now completely painted. Josh painted the walls and Steph's co-worker Keri Carter painted the flowers and butterflies. She did an amazing job!

Our little Batman

2009-03-28T13:53:00.002-06:00

I got a new camera for my birthday, so we have been taking pictures. The problem is that I have not blogged in so long, that I don't know where to start. Josh got Andrew these new PJ's the other day, cape and all. Batman is, according to Josh, the most invincible superhero there is, so he wanted Drew to have the opportunity to be like Batman. I think Josh had more fun with Drew running around in this outfit than anyone else in the house!
We've been working on getting the house ready for our new baby girl. It's coming up fast! I'll post pictures of the finished room when it's all complete. We're getting there, and for those of you on facebook, you have probably seen a "preview" of the room on Josh's page.
On another piece of news, Drew started to read last week. I'll get video soon to put on the page, but he has a few little flashcards that we use with him, and he knows a number of the words on the cards now. He loves to read, and with this new knowledge, I hope he continues to grow and learn and enjoy reading as he gets older!

It's A Girl

2009-02-09T09:41:00.004-07:00

So if you haven't heard yet, we are having a girl! Steph is due in late June (28th) and we just found out this last week that we will soon have a baby girl. Josh has been teaching Drew that it will be his duty to look after her and protect her when they are old enough to go to school. We haven't picked a name out yet, but early favorites include: Sydney, Natalie, Elizabeth, and Juliette among others. Who knows what the name will be because we constantly change our minds. During the ultrasound she (unnamed baby girl) was moving around a lot, and appeared to be sucking her thumb. She also crossed her arms at one point, we don't know if she was praying or throwing up gang signs! Either way she is growing and healthy, so far so good!

Drew the Musician

2009-02-09T09:22:00.004-07:00

Andrew has a love for music. In church he sways his head to the hymns (picture Ray Charles as a baby), and at home he loves the piano and he enjoyed drumming on Rock Band with his uncle Dan.

2009-02-09T09:17:00.003-07:00

So since the last blog update we have learned that Drew loves to vacuum. He tries to take away the vacuum from us, so we give him the push vac to clean along side us. This keeps him quite entertained and he has on occasion used the push vac until the battery dies!

Thanksgiving and Christmas

2008-12-27T22:08:00.007-07:00

This year for Thanksgiving we had the Merrill side come visit us. Since we wouldn't be able to get together for Christmas we also celebrated Christmas early with them.

Right before Christmas we got hit with a pretty sizeable snow storm. Drew and Josh were up to the task of shoveling it though (Drew supervised).

Christmas Eve we had Andra (Josh's sister) her boyfriend Kevin (or as Josh says Tevin) and Matt Entwistle over for dinner. Andra was nice enough to bring the whole meal- zuppa tuscana soup and various breads and cheeses.

Christmas day Drew woke up to realize that Santa had come and brought him a new "Little Tikes" basketball hoop. Drew saw it and said "Whooaaa!". That alone made Steph and Josh's Christmas.

Drew Videos

2008-12-05T08:49:00.003-07:00

Trip to Florida

2008-11-29T21:56:00.003-07:00

Last week we were able to take a trip to Tampa Bay, Florida. Steph had a work conference down there and it just so turns out that her Grandparents live down in Tarpon Springs. So Drew and Josh spent a good amount of time hanging out with Great Grandpa and Great Grandma Jellum. We were able to take Drew down to the sponge docks in Tarpon, where we visited an aquarium, had some excellent Greek dessert among other things. At the aquarium we saw a shark feeding and 250 lb Grouper fish. After the shark feeding we headed down to the sponge docks and watch some sailors unload a fresh (can you call them fresh?) bunch of sponges. As we continued our walk we visited a Greek dessert shop (Tarpon has a huge Greek population) where we (Steph and Josh) shared a Greek chocolate mousse.

Overall the trip was fun, unfortunately the weather was rather cold (for Florida at least) and Drew wasn't able to get any time in the pool. All said though it was a fun quick trip to Florida and the Jellums really enjoyed playing with their great grandson.

Halloween Pictures

2008-11-08T11:07:00.005-07:00

Well Halloween came and went, and we have been slow to update the blog. Drew was dressed as Tigger for Halloween this year, and he had a blast watching all the trick or treaters. He helped Stephanie pass out candy and was visited by his uncle Spencer. Josh had to work, but he isn't a big fan of Halloween anyways, as he sees it as a holiday for the little tikes.

Playing around

2008-10-19T12:37:00.007-06:00

Last week was cold and snowy (yes it snowed) here in Utah. This week luckily has been much nicer, so we took Drew out to the little park by our house and took him down the slide. He both liked it and didn't at the same time. He found it fun, but sometimes the slide scared him a bit too.

Hospitals aren't fun, but Drew found entertainment regardless!

2008-10-19T09:15:00.004-06:00

A Trip to The Orchard

2008-09-29T21:07:00.007-06:00

Andrew got to help pick out our pumpkins for Halloween! He ended up getting a lot of little seeds from the ground stuck to his pants while he was "helping". He was a little tentative to touch the pumpkins at first, but warmed up to the idea as we were out longer.

We took a hayride out to the pumpkin patch. Drew's first trip on the trailer. He was fascinated with the tractor- probably the wheels as they were so large!

We've been to this Orchard for 2 years in a row around this time of year. It is beautiful. It's a place called Southridge Farms, and it's located in Santaquin, Utah. We got some apple cinnamon donuts (Josh's favorite) and fresh Apple Cider (Steph's favorite). They have a cozy little country store inside with homemade jams, butters, salsa, and of course apples. There's also fresh homemade ice cream, fudge and pies! Although we did not get everything off that list, we do enjoy going and having a nice Saturday afternoon to enjoy a little piece of country for a while!

Loving to brush those teeth!

2008-09-28T22:37:00.005-06:00

Andrew has developed a love for brushing his teeth. So much so that he gets really mad when it's time to put the toothbrush down. A couple of nights ago he decided that he wanted to walk as he brushed his teeth, and we found it amusing, so here is a clip.

Drew turns 1!!!!

2008-09-14T16:15:00.023-06:00

So Drew is officially 1 year old. Friday was his big birthday bash. We ended up with over 30 people in attendance for this big event. The little man was actually quite spoiled with a plethora of gifts. Ranging from the new radio flyer to clothes (including a Brian Urlacher baby jersey), and probably his favorite gift a squishy ball with eyes from his uncle Dan. Drew loved playing in his cake and he actually ate some of it too. Overall it was a fun party for the little guy.

B-ball injuries

2008-09-14T16:00:00.003-06:00

So I've been playing basketball every Thursday night as both a way to get exercise and also a way to have fun. Well, this last Thursday I played for only about half an hour. I went up for a rebound and landed funny rolling my ankle out, and then rolling it back in. This ended my night playing bball and messed up my ankle for a little while. After I got back home Steph tried to convince me to go to the ER but I was hesitant because I knew that I would end up sitting in the ER waiting room till 5am just to be told it would be another 6 hours until a doctor actually showed up somewhere in the ER. Then of course he would have to visit the patients with real emergencies (drug overdoses, drunk drivers, the normal scum that goes to the ER at late hours), and I would have to wait so long that the ankle would heal itself long before I was ever seen. Anyways I decided to try and sleep on it then go to a clinic in the morning. I went to the orthopedic center and was told it would take 6-12 weeks to recover. This assessment while not encouraging I tend to believe it will be a shorter time frame. Best case scenario I have a bad sprain, worst case I tore some ligaments and would need surgery. I'm thinking that it is probably just a really bad sprain as I can put some weight on it already. I guess time will tell.

The side that looks swollen is actually the side that hurts the least. The inside part of the ankle is where it really kills to bend. Oh I almost forgot to mention that this happened the day before Drew's 1st birthday, so Steph was left to put together the party, tend to Drew, and tend to a fussy husband (probably the worst part of the ordeal for her).

Facebook

2008-09-14T15:52:00.002-06:00

So I've mentioned facebook before, but I have to give it another shout-out. To those who check out our blog and our not on facebook, you should definitely sign up. It's like a blog only better because you can catch up with old friends who you haven't seen in who knows how long. I have caught up with over 150 people, most of whom I had long since lost contact with. You can post pictures, and videos on facebook just like a blog, and you can customize your page to have all sorts of applications from sports updates, to movie reviews, you name it, and chances are it's there. Also for those you enjoy pictures of Drew, I tend to have them up on facebook first. I have tracked down old schoolmates, missionary companions, and old bishops on facebook. I'm willing to bet that you will find all sorts of old friends/acquaintances on facebook. Give it shot, you won't regret it.

-Josh

Rocking Out

2008-09-01T09:29:00.008-06:00

Last night we rocked out on rock band for a few hours. Dan, and Eric lead the way while everyone else just tried to keep up.

Walking Tall

2008-09-01T09:12:00.004-06:00

He walks and he gets frustrated too!

Family in town and of course more Drew

2008-08-26T22:01:00.006-06:00

Here are some pictures of Drew eating his dinner all by himself. We thought it was funny.

"I demand more!!!"

This week Steph's brothers Dan and Eric arrived to Utah as they will be going to BYU (please don't hold it against them!) Here they are hanging out with Drew

Drew is not a fan of grass, but daddy kept pulling the blanket away as he crawled forcing him to touch the grass.

Words of the Little Man

2008-08-26T21:55:00.004-06:00

Drew seems to call for Daddy when he's in a funny mood and he cries for Mommy when he's upset. We've translated that to mean that he seeks comfort from mom and he likes dad for kicks.

2008-08-25T13:49:00.002-06:00

Josh said that I don't post a lot on this site, so I thought I would make more of an effort to update our blog. Well, everyone, big news. Our little guy has taken his first steps. It happened while I was talking to mom on the phone about their trip here. He came up to me and instead of edging his way along our furniture to reach me, he turned and took 2 steps. I immediately picked him up and brought him to a clear area on the floor and he took 2 more steps, giggling, and smiling. I think he's pleased of himself for doing such a great job, or maybe he was just laughing at how excited I was for him. My poor mom had to sit on the other end of the phone and listen to me gush about my baby boy. So, there you have it, we have a walker in our midst. And I couldn't be happier......

More of our little man

2008-08-19T20:32:00.007-06:00

Can't you see that I'm on the phone?

Drew is trying to show off his new teeth. They still need to come up more first though.

One happy baby!

Drew's 1st brat.

Just chatting away.

2008-08-10T18:18:00.002-06:00

Random Drew video

2008-08-10T18:11:00.003-06:00

How not to go down stairs by Andrew

2008-08-07T12:56:00.003-06:00

Sorry but Facebook eats up our internet time

2008-08-07T12:14:00.007-06:00

So we have recently been introduced to Facebook the on-line social utility to connect to friends past and present. We highly recommend it to anyone, we have tracked down old school friends, mission companions, etc. One negative though is that it has taken us away from the blog as we spend more time on facebook than the blog.

Anyways Drew is continuing to grow and he is cutting his top two and bottom two teeth. He has also figured out how to go down stairs (albeit in a very unorthodox manner).

Here are some pictures from the last little bit enjoy!

Steph and Drew at the Zoo!

Drew signed a new 2 year contract and got this sweet cell phone!

I guess we still have to teach him that books are for reading.

That is cracker all over him, no matter what it looks like.

Caribbean Cruise

2008-07-21T08:35:00.026-06:00

The trip started with a few days in Tarpon Springs (Tampa Bay area), where we spent some quality time with Steph's grandparents. It was Drew's first time meeting his great grandpa and grandma Jellum. He loved the pool at their condo!The second day we went over to Busch Gardens aka "Duff Gardens" and among rollercoasters we also saw a 4d show.

This is one of the first pictures on the boat, all of us in the dining hall eating to our heart's content.

The view of the ocean in our room helped entertain Drew.

From left to right: Steph, Megan, Dave, Cindy, and Mellisa.

Drew loved crawling on the beach!

Steph in Playa Del Carmen holding an Iguana.

Outside the ruins in Tulum Mexico.

At a local Mayan village Drew made some new friends.

We haven't gotten the pictures from the Grand Caymans posted yet, because most of them were underwater pictures from snuba diving that either didn't turn out or we don't have copies of yet.

Here are some fun video clips to enjoy.

4th of July

2008-07-21T08:27:00.005-06:00

It's been a while since we posted a blog but so much has happened. First we'll start off with the 4th of July. We started the day with a big breakfast in our back yard, then in the afternoon we had a bbq with Steph's relatives up in Ogden. That night we watched fireworks at Sugarhouse park. Drew wasn't scared by the fireworks, but rather he was intrigued by them. Overall it was a lot of fun for Drew's first 4th.

Temple Square Trip

2008-07-01T16:26:00.005-06:00

We went down to Temple Square this last Sunday with friends Jarred Dexter and his girlfriend Jen. We also met up Spence and Matt there. It was a good time and it was Drew's first trip to Temple Square.

We're trying to get Drew used to grass, he isn't very fond of it. If we hold him over the grass he will lift up his legs in an attempt not to touch it.

Time with Daddy

2008-06-15T08:56:00.008-06:00

In honor of Father's Day we are posting some recent pictures of Drew helping Daddy out putting away Drew's bouncer that he has out-grown. The last picture is random, but we liked it so there it is.

Andrew's 9 month pictures

2008-06-15T08:45:00.012-06:00

Here are some pictures from Drew's latest trip to JCPenney. He brought his mommy along, and his friend Ella for pictures. Those dang coupons for a free 8x10 and next thing you know we've spent way too much on pictures of our son! Here are a few of the pictures he took.

All Time Food Blunders

2008-06-15T08:04:00.005-06:00

Sure there have been some pretty nasty foods that have come out over the years. As consumers we can be fooled into thinking that something might be good by clever marketing and such. Over the years people have been fooled into thinking that Long John Silvers was actually a restaurant and not just a dumping station for the ocean' s trash for example.

Also McDonalds showed their cockiness years ago by trying to shove so called McDonald's Pizza down our throats.

Well add Skittles into this mix. Sure everyone loves Skittles, even the sour ones are good, but this has gone too far. Chocolate Skittles. Try and wrap your head around the idea of Chocolate Skittles. Despite Steph's warning I had to try them. They might just be the grossest candy known to man. If consumed your taste buds might forever turn on you and make everything taste like dirt.

Who doesn't love Skittles? Who doesn't love chocolate? Then of course they would be great together right?

I should have learned this lesson years ago. My brother and I one morning decided that we loved cereal. We also loved fruit punch. So instead of milk (I think we were out of milk that morning) we put fruit punch into our Corn Flakes. Big mistake. You can only imagine such a taste.

Drew's first haircut

2008-06-04T07:55:00.006-06:00

It all started in the tub where Josh had the bright idea to cut Drew's hair while Drew was wet and distracted by the tub. Well that was initially a good idea until Drew started to stand up in the tub. So to further distract him we turned on the faucet water to keep him occupied. He then as you can see in the first picture started grabbing the lever to turn on the shower, which in turned soaked Stephanie. Then he decided since it was his first haircut to do another first: pee standing in the tub! Since the bathroom experiment wasn't going so well we decided to finish cutting his hair in the kitchen. This was much better except for the fact that we cut like drunken butchers. Overall it turned out alright and his pre-mullet hair is long gone before it ever had a chance to give Billy Ray Cyrus a run for his money.

Sweet Home Chicago

2008-05-30T10:15:00.012-06:00

Last Friday we flew back to Chicago to surprise Steph's brother Dan for his high school graduation. We were there from Friday to Tuesday and over that time we went to a White Sox game, went to all the graduation stuff (actual graduation, open house, seminary graduation), went to the town Memorial Day parade, and spent some quality time with the Merrills over Memorial Day. Overall it was a really good time and May is a beautiful time in the Midwest as everything is very green and the temperatures were between 60-80 degrees.

Josh's Sports Update

2008-05-20T21:28:00.006-06:00

The White Sox have won 8 in a row and are back in first place in the AL Central. The season has been up and down already. They started off fast, then they almost fell apart, and now they are back in first place and looking good with a good mix of pitching and hitting.

BULLS WIN THE DRAFT LOTTERY!

With only a 1.6% chance of landing the top pick in this year's NBA Draft, the Bulls lucked out with the top pick! Now they will most likely have decide between Michael Beasley from Kansas State, a scoring power forward, or Derrik Rose a pure point guard from Memphis (originally from Chicago). I think the Bulls will go with Rose and try and trade there current PG Kirk Hinrich, but I think either player would fit in great. I go back and forth but for now I think my vote is for Beasley, just because we need a big man to score in the post and grab some boards.

2008-05-20T15:06:00.002-06:00

Drew decided to venture out away from his toys and find his own entertainment!

2008-05-20T12:28:00.002-06:00

Here are some random pictures from the last little while including Drew with Nana, Mommy, and just playing around.

Favorite Quote of the Day

2008-05-18T21:04:00.003-06:00

So I was sitting in church today and heard a quote from President Thomas S. Monson that really just hit me. I would like to share, "..you be the one to make a stand for right, even if you stand alone. Have the moral courage to be a light for others to follow." It was a wonderful talk, and it made me renew my efforts of reading the words from our Prophet. I am even more excited to read General Conference again in our Ensign!

Car Search

2008-05-18T20:47:00.003-06:00

So we have been looking at getting a new car for a while now. Who knows when we will actually bite the bullet and get another car. We are looking for something that gets good gas mileage, is roomy enough to grow as a family, and an overall quality vehicle. Steph wants a Honda Accord, while Josh wants a Honda CR-V. Other options that we have looked at include the Honda Fit (we really like Honda's), and Toyota Camry, and the Toyota RAV4. We already have a Toyota Corolla and we love it, but we want something that has more space. Please feel free to comment on your likes and dislikes of any of these cars, or other cars that might be worthwhile to look into.

Drew Crawls

2008-05-15T16:57:00.004-06:00

Just a day after Drew's Nana flew back home, he decided it was time to start crawling. Since then he has been on a mission to explore every nook and cranny that he is allowed to roam. He has also started to say what we interpret as "mama". Whether or not he is truly saying that is up for debate, but it does sound like it. If we can manage to get him on video saying it we'll post it.

2008-05-04T20:11:00.002-06:00

My New Friend:
So for graduation I got the Garmin Nuvi 660 GPS. I must say that I have long admired Garmin and her abilities to help a lost soul such as myself find my path. For those looking for an affordable GPS that does the trick this is a good choice. It has all the bells and whistles: Bluetooth capability, text to speech, down loadable content, mp3 player, integrated traffic receiver (many other more expensive models don't come with an integrated receiver), and many other sweet options. If this still is a bit to pricey for your taste the Garmin Nuvi 200 is a good entry level model. So that's my new gadget, and I highly recommend it to any lost soul.
-Josh

GRADUATION!

2008-05-04T14:30:00.002-06:00

After 5 years of going to the University of Utah, Josh finally made the big walk to get his diploma. Actually it was just a piece of paper because his diploma will come in the mail! (He kept reminding us that he wasn't actually getting the diploma at graduation to try to get out of going.) Drew was a proud son, and I am so happy for him to finish. It's been a long 5 years, with work and school and this past year with our new little man joining us, so it's been quite the accomplishment! Mom, Spencer, Matt, Jared and Megan came with us to the U to cheer Josh on. Thanks to everyone for their support- enjoy the pictures.

Drew goes crazy over dice

2008-04-27T20:17:00.003-06:00

We were playing the game "Pirate's Cove" with our friends the Dardens when Drew started to giggle. Come to find out it was the sound of the dice that cracked him up.

Ella beats down Drew

2008-04-27T20:12:00.003-06:00

Hopefully Drew won't always get beat up by girls!

Grill Season

2008-04-19T20:13:00.003-06:00

It's grilling season (but then again when is it not?) So I thought I would post a favorite grilling recipe of mine:

London Broil

Can be found in any meat section, just don't buy the thickest one unless you plan on cutting it down the middle (horizontally).

Stab both sides with a fork repeatedly to allow the marinade to properly soak (the more stabs the better!).

Pour Lawry's Teriyaki sauce all over the steak along with a few drops of lemon concentrate and one cap full of Lawry's Meat Tenderizer. Let the marinade soak for 24-48 hours if possible.

Cook over medium to medium low heat turning every few minutes. Also save the left over marinade and pour on the meat every time you turn it to keep it moist. Cook to your liking and cut the meat into strips.

Bath time

2008-04-19T18:38:00.003-06:00

Drew is enjoying some well deserved bath time, talking up a storm. I looked up his gibberish on wikipedia and come to find out he was saying "Daddy is the coolest" in baby talk.

Workout Time

2008-04-19T18:19:00.005-06:00

Drew is showing off his ability to do push-ups. Get down and give me 10!!!!

2008-04-19T15:30:00.002-06:00

What was Ozzy thinking? Josh and I are big Survivor fans. I thought I would also let everyone know about another favorite show of mine. Big Spoiler alert for those who have not seen this week's episode, but Ozzy was voted off from the show this week, and I was so sad. He was in possession of an immunity idol, but didn't play it. Josh thinks it was great strategy for everyone else, but I was cheering Ozzy on and was sad to see him leave!

2008-04-19T15:25:00.002-06:00

Everyone needs to check out this show. It's going to be back on air this next Friday night. If you are a fan of the Twighlight series and love the "Vampire Genre", check it out and let me know what you think! You may even want to go to CBS http://www.cbs.com/primetime/moonlight/ to check out past episodes!

2008-04-11T23:36:00.001-06:00

This is one of our favorites. Classic Andrew being shy and smiling. What a pleasant little man!

2008-04-11T23:23:00.004-06:00

Here's our first family photo. We took our family picture at the same time we did the 6 month pictures of Drew. He did such a great job for the photographer.

Someone doesn't like his peas

2008-04-10T20:06:00.000-06:00

As you can see there is a little guy who has decided he doesn't care for his peas, but really who likes peas anyway?

Drew

2008-04-07T19:55:00.000-06:00

Drew is fast approaching 7 months old and he is growing and doing well. Drew loves jumping in his bouncer, giving out kisses to mom and dad (mostly mom) and talking loudly in church! He hasn't started crawling yet, but he rolls around some especially in his crib where he is ever moving. He also loves to pull off his socks, read, and pound on the piano.

For exercise Drew plays with toys including a soccer ball that he bounces (rumor has it that he wants a basketball). Somehow he has figured out how to shake his head no, but he hasn't figured out the yes motion yet.

Stapleton Family

June 2009 to December 2009

Natalie's 1st Birthday

Thomas The Train, and hanging In Illinois

Sunday Pictures

Costa Rica, Spring, and everything else

Christmas Pics

Drew Reading

Family Year 2009

Shared photo book from Stephanie

Happy Halloween

Fall Update

Natalie has found her voice

San Diego Trip

Welcome Natalie

Drew dancing to the beat!

Time to catch up

Easter 2009

Mister Big Boy

Your Baby Can Read

Family Home Evening Talent

Home Improvements

Our little Batman

It's A Girl

Drew the Musician

More Random Drew Videos

Thanksgiving and Christmas

Drew Videos

Trip to Florida

Halloween Pictures

Playing around

Hospitals aren't fun, but Drew found entertainment regardless!

A Trip to The Orchard

Loving to brush those teeth!

Drew turns 1!!!!

B-ball injuries

Facebook

Rocking Out

Walking Tall

Family in town and of course more Drew

Words of the Little Man

More of our little man

Random Drew video

How not to go down stairs by Andrew

Sorry but Facebook eats up our internet time

Caribbean Cruise

4th of July

Temple Square Trip

Time with Daddy

Andrew's 9 month pictures

All Time Food Blunders

Drew's first haircut

Sweet Home Chicago

Josh's Sports Update

Favorite Quote of the Day

Car Search

Drew Crawls

GRADUATION!

Drew goes crazy over dice

Ella beats down Drew

Grill Season

Bath time

Workout Time

Someone doesn't like his peas

Drew