Change in the Friedli home!!

SOOO many things are happening and changing these days it seems sometimes a bit overwhelming but exciting at the same time!!

Obviously being pregnant and planning for a new little angel to come into our home is the biggest!!! Luckily you get 9 months to prepare! I will spare you the details of the changes to my body this post…since Zach was SO embarrassed that I posted about one of them! ;) (My brother in law Riley texted me too that he now knows TMI about some things! ;))

The second biggest change is Zach started a NEW j-o-b!!! As I have mentioned before he has been wanting to get out of landscaping since it is a lot more stressful being blind and he realizes his body won’t be able to last his WHOLE life digging in the dirt! He already has major back pains from it! His chiropractor told him his abs are on backwards cuz he has a six pack on his lower back from all the digging! ;) I’m a lucky girl! ;)
Anyways, he has been looking and knew a couple people that LOVED their sales job at a place called Trace Minerals. After talking with them more about it he found out they had a part time job opening. Since he normally doesn’t do anything in the winter anyways, he thought it would be a perfect time to start to see if it is something he enjoyed and could do. He interviewed and got the job! Since it is a sales job, the pay doesn’t start out great because it is all commission, but the more you are there and the more clientele you build it can be a great job in the future…which obviously he is looking for something long term.

The people there are SOOOO nice and accommodating to him. The first day of work they had a 32 inch T.V. screen for his computer monitor to help him see better. He is assigned a region in the U.S. and sells directly to stores. Trace Minerals makes vitamins and supplements…there biggest uniqueness is that they get a lot of their minerals from the Great Salt Lake...which is the best place to get them I have learned! :) It has been fun to see Zach get all interested in health stuff and get excited about it. Not that he wasn’t a healthy person but I have always been more into that stuff then him! ;)

After 2 weeks of being there they offered him full time starting in December which is way sooner then they had told him up front. So…obviously that is awesome! He may still try and keep landscaping going on the side until he starts to build a better salary…but we will wait and see.

The weirdest thing is seeing him in polos and slacks every day now instead of holy jeans and stained shirts! ;) I kind of enjoy the change…except I have to iron now! ;) The hardest part for him is learning and becoming proficient at all the computer stuff and learning all the products. He has been studying and studying when at home and all the computer stuff will just come with time. He is obviously at a disadvantage that it takes him a little bit longer then others cuz he can’t see as well but I think the more he does it the easier it will become!

The job is in West Haven and is a 20 minute recruit! Luckily we have an AMAZING friend Mr. Nate Davis that gives Zach a ride down on his way to work and we started a little family/friend rotation on picking him up every day!! We are so blessed to have such a great support that will help us out!!!

One sad change is that we are selling the Ranger TODAY!!! :( We started taking Dave Ramsey’s Financial Peace University classes a couple months ago and have learned SOOO much!!! I seriously think EVERY person should HAVE to take his classes in high school. They are SO good for ANY person and especially married couples. Anyways…after learning all that we have from these classes, we realized that we have some big goals…like building a custom home for Dakota man to make life easier for him and us. We had to suck it up and realize that we could get closer to that important goal if we sold the Ranger and put that money somewhere better that could be building us interest instead of losing interest each year. We aren’t anywhere close enough to start that home, although I wish we were, but we have definitely learned some valuable stuff that could help get us closer to achieving that goal sooner then later. Seriously…if you haven’t ever learned his program…DO IT!!! It will change your life and your marriage! It helps you as a couple have a plan! For your money and for your future! Dave Ramsey is all about building wealth to GIVE to others and that is another thing I LOVE about him!!! The feeling you get when you can help someone else is indescribable and unexplainable. I LOVE it!! And I want to be able to do that ALL of the time!! Anyways…I’ll quite my preaching! ;)

So goodbye Ranger! We will miss you! You have brought us a LOT of joy and fun times to our family during our hardest of times when there was NOTHING we could really do with Dakota. Now that Dakota has progressed so much we don’t feel like the Ranger is our only outlet of fun with him. We get to do more and more with him so selling it is easier now. And eventually…when we get to our more important goals in life…we will get another one! ;)

Another change is Zach turned 29 and FINALLY caught up to his old lady…not long before I turn the big 3-0!!!

I am lame and didn’t capture ANY pictures on his actual birthday…except on our Ranger ride! He had a good one though! He slept in…Dakota and I made him some yummy stuffed French Toast. We went on our last Ranger ride in Mantua. Then Zach and I went to his FAVORITE restaurant Carlos & Harleys in Eden and finished the night with our trusty Dave Ramsey class! ;)



 
This smile is the only thing that broke my heart about selling this thing. But luckily he will smile at other things too now! ;)




So grateful to celebrate another year older with this handsome, talented, hard-working, amazing husband of mine!!! Sure love him!!!!

Not too much has changed with Dakota man but he is sure LOVING school!!!


He especially loves gym time where he gets to ride on scooters and bikes! He has the BEST nurses and teachers that involve him in EVERYTHING!!!

The coolest thing is today at school they had a guy from South Jordan come in who is an expert with the Eagle Eyes communication device. It is a device that allows a child to communicate with just the tracking of the eyes. I went to the school to watch and it was SOOOO cool!!!

They hook these little detectors around his eyes on his eye muscles that allows him to control the mouse with his eyes. They start out with simple cause and effect things because he has to learn that HE is controlling the mouse. When he would look at the object that was on 1 spot on the screen it would start a little silly video of a song. He started off slow and needed a lot of guidance to look at the target. But by the end of the 20 minutes he was starting the video over right after it stopped. It was SO cool!!!


All hooked up and ready to rock and roll!!!


He loved this song where the alien danced! ;)

Here is a little video of him doing it to show you how it works. This is still when he was a little slow at it.

Eventually once kids learn that they are in control you can begin to have pictures that are choices and it can get more and more complex the more they learn. I am SOOOO excited to see where this could go because I KNOW Dakota knows what is going on and would LOVE to tell us more then we can understand from our basic communication that we have learned so far!!!

I am SOOO grateful for his wonderful teacher and the communication team that is making this happen!!

We Gone and DONE it!!!

Well…it’s official…Dakota is SO happy to announce that on May 8th he will be the…




AAAAHHHHH!!!

We are so excited, nervous, scared, and thrilled ALL in ONE!!!

When I wrote that post about the question we always get about having a baby, I had no idea it was going to be this soon.

I have always been more ready then Zach but whenever I tried to maybe persuade him it never ended well. So…not saying I gave up, but I accepted the fact that he wasn’t ready and I didn’t even wanna try and convince him until he was the one that was ready. I had NO idea how long that would be but I decided it didn’t matter. It was going to be a tough road whenever we decided to have a baby…so I needed to make sure he WANTED it just as badly as I did cuz their was NO way I was going to even think about trying to do it “on my own idea.”

So one day we were driving in the car (well I was driving ;) ) and he finally said…I think I’m ready to have another baby. I NEED another little voice in my life.

A WHOLE flood of emotions came over me and I was shocked, happy, excited, nervous, and really a little freaked out all in one. The joy I felt from hearing those words out of HIS mouth was indescribable. I really wasn’t sure if I ever would…although I hoped I would.

I felt like we were having a baby at that very moment and that was when I freaked myself out. My mind started racing…this is really it!! Am I REALLY ready for this?! I mean I have wanted it badly but can I REALLY do it?! What if something does happen to this baby like Zach has always worried about?! Could I really emotionally and physically deal with that?! Zach was always my cop out on why we haven’t decided and now that he was in…I needed to make sure I was really in!!

But of course I was…so we started the hunt for some private insurance that had some kind of maternity coverage because the one we were currently on had none. We got all that was offered for private insurances…a whopping $7,500 deductible. But obviously we know things can go wrong VERY easily, so something is ALWAYS better then nothing!!

We got signed up, waited a month to be members, and then I stopped taking the pill! ;)
I had no idea how fast it would be and frankly I was okay if it took a little while. I wanted to make sure we were really ready for this! ;)

I prayed my little heart out to my loving Heavenly Father that He would give us this baby when HE thought we were ready physically, emotionally, spiritually, and all around. I didn’t want a baby until He knew we could do it because He sees the big picture. He knew how hard it would be for us and all that lied ahead…so I put my faith in him and….

Lo and behold…first month this little peanut was given to us!

I truly feel like Heavenly Father was ready for us to take on another one of his precious children but He wanted us to want it and feel like we were ready. Sometimes I even prayed when Zach was being stubborn about it that He would just send us one even though we were taking birth control cuz I didn’t think Zach would ever commit. He obviously knew that wouldn’t be the best situation for us and that WE needed to want this little spirit just as badly as He wanted us to have it!

I feel SO blessed and comforted in knowing He trusts us again to have another!

SO…I am almost 12 weeks along and can really say I have been feeling pretty dang good! I have my tired spells where I feel like I can’t keep my eyes open for one more minute so I indulge in naps more often then I ever have when I get the chance. I went through a blah stage where I didn’t feel great but didn’t feel horrible…usually the nights were the worst. But I have never thrown up so I really can’t complain. I don’t know how all you woman who are so sick all the time do it???!!! My breasts KILLED for about 10 days straight ALL the time and I feel like they grew every day of that. I even got asked if I got a boob job? Nope…just pregnancy. Don’t you think for all that our bodies go through at least we should be able to keep our boobs?? ;) j/k…kind of! ;) I already feel like I’m showing way more then I should at this point. My pants are already feeling tight and I’m a little worried this may be a long 9 months! ;) Is that normal to already feel this big at 12 weeks?? It has been so long (over 5 years) since I was pregnant so I truly can’t remember much about how I felt with Dakota. (This is why you get all these fun details…for my rememberance! ;))

The thing that I am MOST worried about is when I get REALLY big…how I will carry and take care of Dakota. He is already getting pretty big, heavy, and awkward to carry around and when I have a huge belly it will be quite a bit more awkward. Obviously, we will make it work but I am a little nervous.
I am MOST excited about when I get to FEEL this baby inside of me! It will feel SO much more real and I truly can’t wait!!!

Gender you ask?! We truly and honestly don’t care!! We just want a healthy baby…and I mean that more then anyone you have EVER heard say that!!! I am nervous somthing will be wrong but I have tried to pray and put my faith and trust in my Heavenly Father that he will take all the fear from me and help me to focus on the excitement of it all.

I want whatever gender will be best for Dakota. I think a sister might be more loving, sweet, helpful, and kind to him. I also don’t know if we will have another child after this or not. We aren’t making any plans…just take it one at a time. SO of course EVERY mom wants a daughter…so for that reason a girl would be great! Also…we only have girl names that we like right now…not boy names.

A brother would be so fun for Dakota though so he could play boy stuff with Dakota and be his little buddy and protector. And personally…I just LOVE boys!! I LOVED playing boy stuff with Dakota and I just think little boys are the cutest things on the planet!! (it would also save me some money since little girls have WAY too many cute and fun things! ;))

So in the end…we are just plain excited!!!

Goodbye Summer…Hello Fall!

Well...it is officially Fall and I feel like I never quite finished up summer! It went from hot to freezing cold WAY too fast for me! I do love season changes and the fun holidays that Fall brings BUT I will miss summer...mostly the sunshine and warmness, the days that stay light forever, the playing outdoors, and the carefreeness of it all!!

So before I can begin Fall, I felt like I had to wrap up the rest of our summer so I won't forget what a great summer we really had! Dakota has come along so much that I feel like this was the first summer where we got to really play and not stress too much about him. Since he is happier and easier then he has ever been we  got to enjoy summer more then we ever have since his accident.
Lucky for us we got a lot of family time with my family and Zach's and lots of friend time!! I love being around the people I love...even if we do nothing at all!! You never know what tomorrow will bring so I really treasure my time with these people!!

My sister Annie and her cute family got to come up for one last visit before the end of summer! This is always heaven for us to get to have them 24 hours a day in our home for several days…just makes it hard when they leave!


Trai snuggling Dakota and giving him his succor! She is seriously the best cousin he could ever ask for!



We took them for a Ranger ride with our friends!



Dakota liked having his girlfriend Hadlee along for the ride! ;)


 
We played Tom and Jerry at the park…Dakota really did have fun I promise! ;) These little kids are faster then they look!

 
Dakota was always entertained! His cousins even helped him with therapy!



We all crammed in Zach’s truck to go to the drive-ins. Only the kids stayed awake!



We played games…I LOVE games but never have anyone to play with since Zach is a party pooper with games and Dakota can’t really play with me! It was LOTS of fun!



Dakota’s cousins LOVED his new trampoline!!



It was hard to say goodbye after SO much fun! ALWAYS looking forward to the next time!
We also got a visit from my parents and my brother’s little family! That was a treat for sure!!!



Dakota sure loved his little cousin Toree!! So did I!


Dakota got one last ride in with Papa! He was a lucky boy!

He had to take turns with Toree though!



Sure love these guys!!


We celebrated our sweet nephew Tate’s first birthday! He is so cute! His little face sometimes reminds me of Dakota’s when he was little!

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We had some fun girls nights with just us Friedli girls! I LOVE girls nights…

Especially with these girls!


We had lots of fun times with friends this summer!


We made it to the zoo with some fun, little, cute boys we love…Dempsey and Memphis!

Never a dull moment with these 3!!



My sweet friend Sarahn was so sweet to help Dakota feel included. He is touching some elephant teeth!


The panda bear was my favorite…he was so active and busy swimming around and around!

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Dakota sure had fun!!



We went on Ranger rides with friends…



Had bbq’s with friends…

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Dakota got to go on his first boat ride and I had my first wake boarding experience…




We went to lots of summer movies! Dakota sat really good through them as long as I had a succor to keep him happy when he got bored. It was fun to get to go with him each week and let him be a normal kid!


He loved having these cute girls go with him! ;)


We of course made it to one of my favorite things of the year…Peach Days!!

I ran the 10k because it has become a tradition. The race itself is really crappy and hard because there are SOOO many hills but I love the atmosphere of it and I just love our little town! I was hoping to at least beat my last years time but that didn’t happen…I was a little bit longer..but I am getting old so I guess that’s ok…right?!


I got 3rd place overall for woman but Dakota was still not very impressed…look at that face! ;)


Afterwards we made it to the parade! It is always such a fun and huge parade. It was a little crowded where we were at so I’m not sure how much Dakota got to really see but it was fun!

Love these boys!!


We finished the day off with some yummy peach cobbler…it would be a crime not to get some there! ;)

This summer Zach and I got to get away and play a little bit ourselves…

We took a Ranger ride trip from Hardware Ranch to Bear Lake and spent the day being lazy in the sun/clouds with our friends! It was such a fun adventure and a much needed relaxing trip.
The ride took us a couple of hours but it was a beautiful ride with beautiful scenery. We even saw some antelope.

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We are getting closer…



There is the lake! (What is Jake and Zach doing??)

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We paddle boarded, played horse shoes, boys wrestled, and we laid around and ate!



The whole crew!


When we started to load up to come home on the Ranger it started downpouring!! Luckily the Hutchens were nice and let us girls ride in their truck home while Zach, Jake, and Clayton had to ride it out in the storm! To say they were wet and freezing is an understatement but they survived! ;)

Still smiling because they are just getting started! :)


It was SO fun though…Zach was ready to go again as soon as we got home…at least if it stopped raining!

Zach and I also spent a weekend at Country Explosion in Tooele. It was quite the experience! Neither of us had ever been but I LOVE country music and have convinced Zach it is pretty dang good since we have been married! We thought it would be a fun little outing.

I enjoyed every minute of it but it was a little hot during the day. So we decided to leave and come back just for the evening performances. Zach was a little country musiced out by the end but I LOVED every performance!

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My hot date! I kinda love him! ;)


I even got to meet Tate Stevens who won X-Factor! He is awesome!!!

Zach really likes him too but not enough to get a picture with him. He thought I was a total nerd! ;)


Since Zach was all countried out I went to Jason Aldean with one of my besties Amanda! We totally rocked it out together!!


Don’t mind the bright spotlight taking over her head! ;)


Since we didn’t have dates we found our own! ;)

I mean…who could resist these 2 cute cowboys!?


I recently got to go to Colorado to surprise one of my best friends from high school on her 30th birthday! That’s right 30!!! (We are getting old!)


Her cute husband flew me and our other friend Abbey in to surprise her and boy was she surprised!

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Shhh…here we come!


It was quite the adventure to get to their house because it was when all of the flooding was happening in Colorado. It took her poor husband about 5 hours of driving their and back instead of 2 just to pick us up and get us there.

We had the best weekend together…talking, laughing, playing games, shopping, and just being together! Even though the three of us hardly get to all be together since we are in 3 different states, we don’t skip a beat when we are together! It always feels just like it was yesterday!
Love these girls!!


Katie, me, and Abbey

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Gaming it up (game like charades if you can’t tell)…quite hilarious stuff going on here! ;)

We of course had to pamper Katie and take her to get her nails done!

She didn’t know her husband had planned a big surprise party for her that night with all of her friends! ;)


It was so fun to see her surprised and meet all of her friends in Colorado. She just kept saying this is the BEST birthday…to be with ALL the people I love!!





We played a mean game of shuffle board at the restaurant where her party was…



unfortunately for her, Abbey and I had to beat her and her sister on her birthday! ;)

OUCH!


I will definitely make my way back to Colorado some time…1 for the amazing company and 2 because they had my FAVORITE fast food place that I loved in South Dakota…Taco Johns!
I about died when I saw that they had it..I made them go there just for me. It was just as good as I remember!


YUM!!!


BEST and MOST needed trip EVER!!! Love these girls!




We also had to work of course this summer too…it wasn’t ALL fun and games!


Zach played in the dirt doing his landscaping a lot of the summer! It’s a dirty job that’s for sure!

LOVE these hardworking hands!


Dakota still had to go to therapy even though it was summer…but they always make it fun!

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The only bummer thing is that he had to have serial casting done again on his ankle. Because of the brain injury, it makes his muscles stiffen up a lot and he is constantly pointing his toes and straightening his body. If you don’t get enough stretch in the ankle then his muscle behind his calf will shorten and they will have to do a surgery to cut it. The casting is a progression of stretches to help give the muscle a constant stretch to avoid the surgery. Luckily it helped but it was not fun having a cast on for about 4 weeks with little breaks between each week.


Poor buddy. He was a good sport with his succor! Love his little chicken legs and tiny feet!


Uncle Ryan hooked him up on one of his casts though with some sweet minions!

Thanks Uncle Ryan for sharing your awesome talent!


My jobs were to work in the garden…sometimes I got a little behind!


Oops! But we loved having our fresh veggies…especially to make all of Dakota’s food! We use LOTS of veggies around here!


I did get some canning in this summer! So much (at least for me) that I don’t even wanna look at another bottle!

Got some peaches, pears, tomato juice, tomato soup, and banana peppers done.


It’s like a crime around here if you don’t can because of all the fresh fruits and veggies that are so abundant at the fruit stands!

I snuck a couple of hikes in…which I love! Wish I could have gotten more!


Loved this hike with my friend Holly…mostly for the gorgeous flowers that were all along the trail. On the way down I picked myself a nice looking bouquet!





I think that about FINALLY wraps it up! Too much to blog about too little time! So grateful for the happy memories that are filling our lives.
Now I can start Fall! ;)