Great Joy

My favorite thing Kaleb does is smile, so here is a short clip of my little bundle of joy doing just that.

Kaleb almost 2 months old

Here is some fun stuff with Kaleb. He is doing well. He seems to be growing like a weed. To me he seems to be growing taller everyday. He definatly has his growth spurts were all he wants to do is sleep and/or eat all day. He is getting better at night time, sometimes he sleeps from 10 until 5, goes back to sleep until about 7, I really enjoy those nights. He gave me the best Christmas gift, he slept through the night!!! From 11pm until 7am. He is getting better at picking his head up, he can also switch from side to side fairly easy. He is becoming more interested in toys and things around him but he still loves looking at lights. He loves bath time, he likes to kick his rubber ducky around the tub and drinking the water. My favorite thing in the whole wide world is when he smiles and coos.

Thanksgiving with Kaleb

Here are some pictures of my sweet Kaleb, we are all glad that he is photogenic and dosn't mind having the camera in his face. He is greatly loved by many people, thank you for all your love and support. The first picture is a four generation picture with my dad's parents.

Thanksgiving at our house

This year everyone came, and we had a fabulous time!! We enjoyed having grandma & grandpa Mandeles, too! We ate alot of good food and just enjoyed each others company!

Check out my Slide Show!

Trying out the new Camera

Here is a video of Mom, Dad, Matt and Me trying to enjoy some Cinnamon Rolls and just having some fun. Enjoy!

Ready to Pop

Here are some pictures of me 38 weeks pregnant. (they are taken with Matt's new HD camera, with the remote, it is so cool) The doctors tell me that I am going to deliver any day now. I can't wait for Kaleb to get here.

South India Trip

We started off by taking a night bus to the west coast, a place called Kochi. We stayed on the main land one night and then took a jetty (ferry) out to Fort Kochi and watched the chinese fishing nets... they were really cool but it will be easier to explain them when I get home. We then took a rickshaw to Allepey and was going to stay the night but we didn't see anything worth seeing so we hopped right onto a bus headed for Kollam. We woke up bright and early and went on what is called the 'Backwaters of Kerala' (Kerala is the state southwest of the one I am in, all the cities we went to are in Kerala) which is a series of canals that go through Kollam all the way to Allepey. We saw how they make canoes and what papaya, pepper, tea, ginger, and tapioca look like in the plant form. We then met up with one of our friends and stayed another night in Kollam. In the morning we headed to Varkala (the southern most point I will probably hit) which is a very small village on the beach. We got a sea side cottage for $15 and spent all day at the beach... we even had a romantic dinner right there on the beach (too bad we didn't have any nice mormon boy prospects there to keep us company! JK). Jolly good fun! Then we took an early train to Kottayam to catch a bus to Kumily, a very small town in the Western Ghats of India (mountain range). The sites were beautiful. The next morning we went on a Jungle sufari and saw some bison, monkeys, squirls, etc, had nice breakfast, nice hike, nice lunch, fun boat ride to a water fall... the works! Then we took a jeep ride back and saw some deer. The next afternoon we took a elephant ride throught the jungle... took tons of pics, and then headed home. All in all it was a fantastic adventure!

Kaleb's Baby Shower

The shower was so much fun. Thanks to all who put the party together. It was so much fun seeing friends again. Thanks to all who came. We had a wonderful lunch of salad, sandwiches, and lemonade with cheese cake for dessert.(yum) We played a candy bar matching game, figure out the baby food game, and name the hidden baby object game, they were fun. Then I opened the gifts that people gave, thank you for being so generious, and helping Matt and I out on getting all the stuff needed to take care of children. It means so much to me that so many people took the time to do homemade blankets and burp clothes, they turned out so cute. Kaleb definatly will have plenty of blanket to cuddle and play with. He also got a variety of clothing in a variety of sizes that will definatly be greatly appreciated. He also recieved a few larg items that will come in handy such as a swing, jumper, and travel system. And we can't forget about the small things that when needed are very nice to have such as a first aid kit, bottles, toys, dinnerware etc. Thank you for all of your love and support, it was so good to reunite with everyone again.

Tori 34 weeks pregnant (8 1/2 months)

Here I am 34 weeks pregnant. I personally think that my belly looks like I have a football under my shirt. At the last ultra sound a week ago, they estimated that Kaleb weighs 4lbs 12 oz (almost 5 lbs wow) and a 144 beats per min heart beat (healthy). He is head down and ready to come any day (yeah, no more stirring up my insides to flip positions). No signs of labor yet (which is a good thing being there is still 6 weeks till his due date). Matt and I are so excited to welcome Kaleb into this world!

An Indian Wedding!

Wednesday I got to go to an Indian Wedding! (well the reception anyway) It was sooo much fun but at the same time it was different than I thought it would be. It was a girl from my class that got married and it was fun because she invited the whole class (in which I got my very own invite!) and so we planned to go together (only 25 of us could go). So we met at school at 5:45 and waited for the twenty people that were going together. Stacy (another usac student) and I get funny looks... well more funny looks than normal, when we are wearing sari's (which I tied my own!) but you just learn to ignore it. Everyone looked so nice in their traditional wear! So we all piled into a van which was way too small for the 20 of us but we fit everyone in and were off. We left at around 6:30 and got to the wedding hall at 7:45, it wasn't THAT far but there was a lot of traffic. I had fun getting to know my classmates better and talking and laughing as we went. We finally arrived and as you walk in to a big room they give you almonds and tang-like soda. Once you finish that you stand in line to give congrats to the bride and groom... it wasn't like a typical "line" because it was the bride and groom infront of thrones and flowers getting pictures with everyone. So when we finally got to the front of the line there were too many of us to stick in one photo, so we split into two. You could tell she was excited to see all of us, especially since we were the only young people there! After getting some photos with the bride, they directed us downstairs and said "You can eat and then go".... yep they actually said that! So we went down stairs and it was a hall as big as the one above it (just the ceilings weren't as high) filled with skinny tables. It is so fun how they go about feeding a large amount of people, what it is is they have banana leaves set out for everyone (which is your plate) and water, then there is a procession of men serving, each with their own dish. The first procession consisted of about 12 guys and I thought they were done but after that pairs of guys come drop off more food! It was a lot of food. We had rice and a very spicy curry, roti (unrisen bread), some side dishes (vegetables) and hot sauces and sweet roti, fruit and sweet dishes. Then they came buy and gave party favors which happen to be coconuts, how totally awesome is that?! Oh I forgot... the camera man seemed to have a fascination with our group. As soon as we walked in he pretty much followed us around, even while we ate! It was fun though and the wedding party will have some nice footage of me eating (I think he wanted to see how I did... I think I passed!). So after we got all washed up (with no utensils it gets a bit messy) we had some very interesting "dinner mints" it was some sort of minty sauce, crasins, and a rose petal mix all wrapped up in a leaf, some people chew and spit out but I didn't know this till I chewed and swallowed. I must say, it was interesting... in a good way. So after that we went upstairs so we could get one last look at the bride (all decked out in a reddish orange sari and bangles and jewlery,etc) and she actually waved to us as we were leaving. So all in all it was a bit different than I thought it would be but it wasn't bad. The wedding reception was the night before the wedding, I really wanted to go to the wedding the next morning but my classmates were going to school and I didn't particularly want to go by myself (you should have seen the spectacle we made... well, make wherever we go). So that was my fun indian wedding experience!

Mysore Trip

We left Saturday morning which we were supposed to leave at 6am but Jacob (the man incharge of the usac students) came closer to 6:45. So we squooze nine people into an eight person car and took off for a three hour drive. We arrived into Mysore around ten and started looking for a hotel. After three stops we found one that would work, so we dropped off our stuff and headed out for lunch. We ate, talked and laughed and then went back to the hotel for a two hour gap (which turned into three) to do whatever we wanted... we all crashed. We then went through a Catholic church which was very different architecture than the Muslim Mosques or the Hindu Temples that we have seen. We went to dinner in which I learned a bit of information (which dad will love), Jacob said that we needed to have sweets (aka dessert) after every meal because of the spiciness. The sweets control the acid in your stomach... I thought this was a very welcoming piece of information! Anyway, we went back to the hotel and watched some tv before falling asleep. We woke up early because we were supposed to leave at 8am but Jacob didn't come until 9 (Indian standard time!). We got breakfast and then went for a drive. We drove up to the top of a mountain that looked over Mysore, it was very beautiful. It reminded me of Bangalore but it was smaller and cleaner, and it had mountains close by. We walked around the temple (it seems there is a temple on the top of every mountain) and then we left. We then went to the zoo! We saw lots of cool animals; lions and tigers and bears, oh my! Ok sorry, I now have seen the difference between Indian elephants and African elephants... african e's have very very big ears and are larger than the indian e's. I got to see a white tiger, which are way cooler than the regular ones. I saw lots of monkeys, including chimpanzees and a gorilla. Giraffs are way cool. After that we went to lunch and headed off to Mysore Palace. It is soooo beautiful, anika and I agreed that a mask ball should be held there and both of us should attend! We took a tour and saw and heard all the wonderful things about the palace. They had murals on the walls that are the '3D' ones... they look like regular paintings but their eyes/heads/bodies follow you when you walk by (like the ones in temples). There were lots of ornate ceilings and tiles, most of the palace was painted with 14k gold paint (didn't know that exsisted did you?!). Included in the tour was a camel ride! (yep thats right, I rode a camel!) It was fun... both ani and I got to be on the same camel, it was a short ride but well worth the ten rupees (25 cents)! There was also an elephant ride but we were running short on time. We hopped back in the car and drove home. All in all it was a great trip!

dress cute for work

i said to mom i look cute today so she took my pic on 82307
work at texas is good only 95 hours left but im going down to 2 days of work cause im taking 2 classes so i will be done with college in dec. yahoooooo!
ana i miss u
miss all sister
Eleesh

Pics of McKade and Amber

07 Summer Camp Trip

We had a fabulous family camping trip up to Tropic Reservore (other than we were missing Stacy!). The weather was perfect ... warm in the day and cool at night! We had plenty of good food and fun!

We left around noon on Saturday and got up there at dinner time. We set up camp, built a fire and had chili cheese dogs. Then went to bed early!

Sunday we woke up early and enjoyed the beautiful surroundings, we were just cleaning up breakfast when Kelly, Dar & Whitney came! We talked awhile, rode around a bit, had lunch, then sang "happy birthday" to Jim and he opened his gifts. Kali (our dog) started chocking and gagging for along time ... we tried to help her but she kept running off. So we left her alone for about 1/2 hour then went to look for her and couldn't find her. When we were finally giving up, Tori found her over by the restrooms acting weird. We brought her back to camp and tried to get her to drink water, but she wouldn't. We made her a bed and she just laid there starring and breathing half breaths! We left her alone for a little while but kept checking on her and nothing changed except her stomach kept getting bigger and bigger. So we took her down the mountain to find a vet. We talked to one from Cedar City that said it sounded like her stomach had been twisted and she needed surgery right away! He said the closest vacility was in St. George! So we drove over 100 miles to rush her in for surgery on a Sunday night!

Amber, McKade, Tori, Matt and Eleesha stayed at camp. They played, relaxed, talked, and ate foil dinners, then went to bed. Jim and Karen stayed at Kelly and Dar's house (friends).

Monday morning we picked Kali up at 7:30 and she looked MUCH better!! She was excited to get out of THERE!! He said there was no problem with taking her back up the canyon ... so we headed back up to the camp. That day we left the dogs in camp and went for a long quad ride and saw beautiful scenery and lots of wildlife. We came home and ate, took a short nap, then the guys took off for a more adventurous ride while the girls played battleship. We had a nice dinner around the campfire, and ended off with some-mores. It doesn't get any better than that!! :)

Tuesday we had a big breakfast, cleaned up camp and headed out! Lots of good memories made! And looking forward to the next time! (with Stacy there!)

Hampi Trip

So my trip to Hampi was amazing! So we took a night train this time (much smoother ride than the bus). The rickshaw dropped us off at the bus station and so we had to find the train station... thank goodness it was just down a little ways from the bus station. We went in and waited in line, we had already bought our tickets online but we wanted to make sure we didn't need anything else, which we didn't. Then we went to find our train... haha, that was fun. I didn't know exactly how train stations worked, so we knew we needed to be on platform 8 but we only knew where #1 was (good thing we got there early!) we decided to look around. We climbed some stairs and found that there were way more platforms than meets the eye! We finally found platform 8. We waited there till our train came, then finding our cabin became a problem... we didn't know where we were supposed to go and the train only stops for a few minutes. I resorted to asking a guard where to go, and he pointed us in the right direction. We made it to our cabin at the front of the train (not recommended if you ever take a train... they honk long loud blasts all night) we found are seats, and we're off! the seats turned into beds, so we secured our bags and tried to fall asleep. When I was asleep I would dream that we missed our stop, so I didn't sleep very much that night. We made it to Hopset at 7:45 and caught a rickshaw to Hampi. Right as we got in we checked into a guest house and put down our things, we were starving so we found a roof top restaurant to eat breakfast. While we ate our pancakes (which are crepes here) we planned out our day; we were going to do our own site seeing on friday and then plan to take a tour on saturday. The first temple (and the tallest temple in hampi at 55 meters, that you can see from the entire valley) we got a tour. It was fun to see all the monkeys (even though they weren't very nice), and we got a red dot on our foreheads and flowers in our hair, we also met Lakshmi the elephant. After that we roamed the country side and saw tons of ruins of temples and bazaars (ancient market places) and met lots of children (that love getting their picture taken). We went and ate at the Mango Tree which is a restaurant in the shade of a mango tree, which is between a banana plantation and a river. It was fun and we ate very good food. Then we went to the guest house and took rest. We got up the next day, did about the same but took a rickshaw tour in the afternoon to the ruins that we couldn't reach via walking. It was jolly good fun and we took approximately 500 pictures between anika and I. We made it back in time for church on sunday!

Pregnant Pics

This is me 7 months pregnant. Picture taken by Eleesha. Oh so cute!

Our House Finished

This is our house finished and lived in. :) (Sorry about the sidways pictures, i don't know how to turn them on this program yet)

Our First House

Even though we have been in our home for two years as of July 27th, we are still so greatfull for having such a cute home. I have had these pictures to share for a while and haven't really had the opportunity to share them until now, so here they are. These are pictures from when it was being built.