Carter Turns ONE!

My little baby boy is ONE! Carter's birthday was on Saturday, December 27th. We had a nice little party for him with family on Saturday night. He opened his presents and then we ate cake and ice cream. You can see a picture of the cake on the collage below. It was a snowman cake and turned out really cute if I do say so myself!

I can't get over the feeling like I need to remember every moment while Carter is a baby....even though I know I won't be able to remember everything. I just don't want to forget what he is like at this age! Sometimes I'll just sit and hold him and try and savor every minute... his soft skin, his baby smell, his perfect features, and his tiny fingers and toes. Or I'll hold him and think,"Please don't grow up, please don't grow up." I wish he could stay a baby forever! I can't even explain how much we love this little guy!

A few things Car Car (his nickname) is doing right now:
- He has this little "spunk" to him and seems so smart for his age.
-He is starting to walk pretty well. He gets up and down by himself and can take about 5-10 steps at a time.
- He babbles A LOT! From the moment he wakes up, he babbles all day long. We even think he has said a few words (at least it sounds similar to them): Hi, Boo, Rex, Car Car, & Jesus.
- He loves to play peek a boo and wrestle.
- He knows when he's in trouble. He'll smile and then crawl as fast as he can to get away.
- I think the #1 thing we'll remember the most about Carter at this age is his squealing and screaming for food! Carter is obsessed with eating! If the food on his plate is gone... he squeals. If he sees someone else eating, he'll stand by them and squeal. If he see any food at all.... he squeals and screams until we give in and feed him. You can see in one of the photos in the collage that he is screaming in his high chair because his cake and ice cream are gone!

Merry Christmas to ALL!

Merry Christmas everyone! Hopefully your day was as great as ours. I'm so grateful to spend time with family and just relax! My greatest present was finally getting to see TOM! We have been apart for two whole weeks. The bad weather prevented Tom from driving up here (we're back in MT again) the past few weekends. And then he originally had to work the day after Christmas and was going to driving up for Christmas, then back for work, then up again for Carter's birthday on Saturday.... but at the last minute he got it off! I was so happy. At least it's a little less driving back and forth.

For Christmas morning we had our family, my mom and dad, and my brother Todd. My sister and her family will come this weekend and stay until New Years Day. I was excited to try out my awesome new digital SLR camera. If you don't know what it is... it's a fancy camera that takes awesome pictures! It was Tom and I's gift to each other. Let's just say I took over 300 pictures in less than 24 hours. Think I like my gift? The kids LOVED all their gifts and have been playing non-stop... especially Evan and his new train. So thank you everyone for all the great gifts and Christmas cards we've received! And I have to say that I'm feeling rather terrible from eating SOOO much candy and treats. But I love them and can't stop!

Click below to see a few more photos from our Christmas Day:

Christmas 2008

WALKING!

Carter took his first steps less than two weeks ago. This is the video we got tonight... he's learning fast!

I had to get on and blog about Evan. He is changing so much lately that I wanted to record some of the things he's been doing.
We took him to see Santa a week or so ago. He was pretty reluctant until he saw that you got candy. Then he was fine with sitting on Santa's lap! (Pretty good for a free Walmart picture don't you think?) He also sat on Santa's lap at my parent's ward Christmas party too.... once again for the candy. Now he loves talking about Santy Claus, as he calls him. I'm also proud of Evan for learning to say and talking a lot about "Baby Jesus". But now he thinks every picture of a baby is baby Jesus!

I think I know what people mean about the "terrible two" stage. We're there. Evan is really testing my patience, but then he counteracts it with wanting hugs and kisses all the time! I'm glad for those times we snuggle, hug, give loves, and just spend quiet time together. Otherwise I'd go insane!

I think Evan is testing everyone else's patience lately too. He likes to follow you around and say,"What are you doing now?" over and over. You tell him what you're doing, but he just keeps asking anyways. Or you tell him what you're doing and he asks,"Why?" about a million times.

He also likes to ask where everyone is... for example,"Where's Jordyn?... Where's Rex?... Where's mom?... Where's Carter?" Even if Carter is sitting right next to him.. he'll ask,"Where's Carter?" and I'll say,"He's right there!"and Evan says,"OH!"

Evan is loving that fact that he can play with our digital camera now. We're getting a new one for Christmas so we let Evan have free reign over the old one. He is getting really good at taking pictures! Here's a little sample of his photography:

For the Husbands

Here's a little video clip to help the husbands out with Christmas shopping this year!

Thanksgiving...something to blog about!

Wow, I don't think I've gone a month without blogging in a long time! Well, I'm back and since we recently had a holiday, I have something to blog about now! We went to Tom's parents for Thanksgiving and it was great. Since they live on a ranch, we're lucky enough to use the "lodge" when we have lots of family there. Have I explained what his parents do? In case you forgot....they work on a ranch owned by a wealthy oil guy (previously owned by a wealthy CocaCola guy).Tom's dad keeps up the ranch and his mom cooks when the boss and his guests come. His parents have their own home on the ranch and then there is a lodge that the boss and guests stay at when they come. It's strictly by invitation of the boss...not like a dude ranch or anything. I guess it's mostly for recreation of the boss and whomever he invites! Anywho....we had GREAT food and lots of fun.

Kiddie table! I'm getting really bad about not taking pictures of the adults! I'll get some of the grown ups next time.

The suit and camera add 50 pounds! Tom and I went out on the ranches Polaris Ranger after dark. It was really cold so we threw these suits on to stay warm. We called it our "Redneck Date". We drove out into the middle of no where, turned the headlights off, and just sat there in the quiet. It's probably my favorite thing about the ranch. It's SO quiet, you can't hear ANYTHING! And you can see the stars SO well at night. I love it.

Our new Christmas tradition...hot chocolate floats. If you haven't ever had this you have to try it. You just make hot chocolate and add a few scoops of vanilla ice cream. YuM! When you're done eating the ice cream, your cocoa is extra creamy and cool enough to drink really fast. Another version is to take a bite of vanilla ice cream and then a swig of cocoa and swallow. (Not recommended for those with sensitive teeth.) (Tom made me write that "funny" part) Delicious. I also read that mint chocolate chip ice cream is really good in the cocoa...I'm definitely going to try that next! We made this with the kids and their cousins the other night. They thought it was so fun that we were actually putting ice cream in our cocoa. So, I raised my arms in the air and said in a loud voice,"I declare this our new Christmas tradition!!!"

Happy Halloween

Charlie Brown

Buzz Lightyear

Supergirl!

Trick or Treat!

We went trick or treating with all 9 of the Bybee cousins. I think they all had a blast! L to R: Joseph (Ninja Turtle), Ryan (Fantastic Four character), Carter (Charlie Brown), Clay (Dark Spiderman), Jordyn (Supergirl), Evan (Buzz Lightyear), Cole (Ninja Turtle), Caleb (Robin), Megan (Bumblebee).

We had quite the group of Super Heroes, didn't we? Happy Halloween!

A little geography lesson

So I thought you might want to know a little bit about our new town, Gillette. Or at least know where it's located? Check out the map below. If some of you forgot, I grew up in Billings, MT. Tom has family in Sheridan and Buffalo. (Buffalo is between Sheridan and Gillette) We are one hour from Devil's Tower and about 2 hours from Mt. Rushmore. So we have a little bit of site seeing near by.

This is about he prettiest picture I could find of Gillette! Even people who have lived there many years will admit it's not the prettiest location. I have to say that when we lived in Boise, I would complain a little bit about the lack of trees and beauty in the area (no offense to my Boise readers). BUT, now I have to say that Gillette REALLY doesn't have any trees! So I'm missing the trees and rivers we are used to. However, you only have to drive about an hour to see some of the most beautiful mountains. Gillette is called the "Razor City" because of the popular "Gillette Razors". Tom tried to convince me that the factory that makes Gillette razors was actually in Gillette. It's not....he's always trying to trick me!

Gillette is a booming city because of the many coal mines in the area. (photos below) This area produces 89% of the coal in Wyoming and is also the leading producer of crude oil in Wyoming. The population is 27,000 and rapidly growing. My brother in law has a very successful business power washing and cleaning the huge coal mine equipment. We keep telling him they need to try and get "Dirty Jobs" to come and do their job! I haven't actually seen any of the mines yet, but at some point I might go take a tour. Oh, Gillette also is called the "Energy Capital of the Nation" too. I've been telling everyone how different Gillette is than what we are used to. First, it's the smallest town I've lived in so that takes a little getting used to. You can really tell it is a "mining town". Everyone drives trucks. I have probably counted 5-10 minivans in the whole city so far. I actually feel a little out of place driving a minivan! That's quite the change from Boise.... minivans were the norm! But, I have been surprised at how nice everyone is and how nice looking the town is. Most everything around town is kept up nice and a lot of buildings look newer. Shopping is def. limited, but we have a Walmart, Kmart, Albertson's, Applebee's, Papa Murphy's, Home Depot... and most of the normal fast food places. Word has it that we might get a Super Target! That would be a dream come true! As far as church goes, there are 3 wards and one student ward (there is a very small college).

So, I hope that helps you find out more about where we'll be living for who knows how long! We have been having a heck of a time finding a rental or any place to live. You wouldn't even believe all the options and directions we've looked at. We keep thinking something great must be coming our way because we sure have been looking hard, but nothing seems to work out. We weren't planning on buying, but we are almost being forced in that direction. Before we moved to Gillette we had heard that housing was hard to find, but I just figured,"Oh, we'll find something!" I guess they were right... it is hard! We had a few apartment buildings we were using as "back-up" plans. Those even fell through! So, we are seriously looking at buying now. We hate to do it so quickly, but we don't have much of a choice. So keep your fingers crossed we can find something fast and something nice!

Lots of SNOW! (and other photos)

I definitely did not plan for snow when I was packing our stuff! We got a ton of snow in Gillette the past couple of days. It sounds like Montana and Wyoming or getting hit the hardest!

Looking out the back door onto the deck.

BBQ grill & deck.

This was a week or two ago...when it was still warm out! Evan, Clay, and Cole on the trampoline. We've all been getting a kick out of how Evan has to do everything that Clay and Cole do. He really wants to be a big kid just like his cousins!

Jumping on the trampoline...karaoke style!

Clay showing off his moves.

This was taken at the zoo in Montana when we were staying with my mom and dad. We got a great show from a few of the animals. We got to see the tiger, red panda, and bear really up close.... which is pretty rare at a zoo! The bear actually walked up to the window, stood up on it's hind legs and put his paws on the window we were standing at...it was awesome! Sadly, no one got any photos of it. My dad did get some video of the bear playing in his pond...I'll have to post it later.

Bye for now!

I'd like to nominate the Bybee family (that's us) as "The Worst Guests EVER"! Tom and I are feeling pretty bad because we are such terrible guests. Where do I start? First off, we still haven't found a place to live(that's a whole nother story), so we've been mostly staying with Tom's sister. We definitely thought we'd have a place by now, so we feel guilty for staying so long. Tom started his new job so we've had to stick around Gillette while he works and we continue searching for a place. This past week ALL three of our kids got a stomach bug! Luckily, it was one time throwing up and then they were ok. But, Jordyn threw up all over Linda's new couch. Lovely. Linda was so great to help with the sick kids and having to deal with cleaning her new couch! Linda has also changed more poopy diapers than any Aunt should have to. Whenever we leave the kids with her, they all get stinky diapers. Then, last night Tom and I both got REALLY sick. Let's just say we were taking turns throwing up from about 1am-7am. We both said it was the sickest we have both been in our ENTIRE lives. It was bad! So, Linda pretty much took care of our kids all day long because we could hardly get out of bed. And it just happened to be one the few days that her husband had off from work! Don't you think we deserve the "worst guest award" and Linda deserves the "greatest person of all time" award??!

Free Handbag!

Check out the website below. They are giving away a free handbag every hour. Think you can win?

www.handbagplanet.com

ME

I am: Emily

I think: politics are boring. Sad but true.

I know: I should finish college

I want: a massage

I wish: I could go on an exotic vacation

I hate: rude people (esp. customer service people)

I miss: my sisters

I fear: getting seriously ill

I feel: happy when my kids want to snuggle with me

I hear: everyone playing Wii Mario Kart

I smell: bacon

I crave: sweets of every kind!

I search: for new recipes all the time

I wonder: if I'll ever get to travel out of the country

I regret: not keeping in touch with old friends

I love: how great I feel after I exercise

I care about: Tom & the kids

I always: forget birthdays

I am not: good at singing

I believe: in Jesus Christ

I remember: the first PG-13 movie I ever saw (Encino Man)

I don't understand: why people like the WWE

I don't always: express my feelings when I should

I need: a new camera

I win: Settler's of Catan (some of the time anyways)

I lose: Scrabble EVERY time

I never: eat tomatoes

I listen: to Pandora Radio

I can usually be found: on the computer or taking care of the kids

I'm scared of: anyone in my family dieing

I'm happy about: spending so much time with Tom while he isn't working

I tag: anyone who has the time to do this!

Who lives in a pineapple under the sea?

Uncle Travis decided that Carter looks like SpongeBob Square Pants. What do you think?

Today is our 7th anniversary! Right now we are staying with Tom's sister, so she watched the kids and we went out to dinner. Maybe I repeat myself every year, but Tom really is such a great husband and dad! It's been a great 7 years.....Happy Anniversary Tom!

So, who wants an update on what we've been up to the past few weeks!? I don't even know where to start. I've decided we could pretty easily live out of a van for the rest of our lives.... even though it IS NOT fun. We don't even need all the "stuff" we've accumulated over the years. Just a few duffel bags with the necessities!

Well, we've been driving around MT and WY staying with different family members (my parents in MT, Tom's parents in WY, and Tom's sister in WY) while Tom applied for jobs (in several different cities) and we looked for places to live. I can't thank our family enough! I know it can't be easy having 3 rambunctious kids and 2 messy adults living with you. Like I've said before, we have a GREAT family! It's funny because whenever we pull up to a family members house, Evan says,"We're Hooome!" and we laugh and say,"No Evan, we don't HAVE a home!" Funny, yet sad.

I think it's safe to say that Tom will be taking a job in Gillette, Wyoming. He has a good job offer here and another interview tomorrow. I'll have to post more once he accepts one of the jobs and tell you all about our new city. I can't wait for him to accept a job so we can get a place to live. I think we are all very anxious to get settled! A few pics. from the past few weeks:

UFO's & Aliens

The other night we were watching a show on TV about UFO sightings and alien abductions. I actually hate watching these shows because they freak me out! Anyways, we've gotten in a few discussions with both of our families about our opinions on UFO's and aliens, etc. Most of us came to the conclusion that we did NOT believe in alien abductions, but that we DID believe in UFO sightings. I believe there are some pretty credible people who claim to have seen UFO's.

Tom actually has seen a UFO and his mom says she's seen two. Tom said he was out on one of the ranches in Wyoming and saw a really huge bright ring of lights that was only 20-30 ft. above him in the sky. He said it was making a weird noise like a helicopter whooshing sound in slow motion. The next day, other people in the area said they saw it too.... pretty interesting. I actually think the UFO was just dropping Tom off.

So, we wanted to get everyone else's opinion on UFO's and aliens.

Have you seen a UFO or alien or know someone that has?
Do you believe in UFO sightings?
Do you believe there are aliens?
Do you believe in alien abductions?

Welcome Home Todd!

My little brother Todd just got home from his mission tonight! He served in the New York New York North Mission. We're so glad we got to be here to pick him up at the airport and welcome him home! We've been asking him a million questions and having fun listening to all of his stories. Here's a few of the things we asked him that I'm sure others in the family are wondering about too:
Best food he ate - Paella (a Colombian dish that consists of Rice, Salami, and Shrimp.)
Worst/Weirdest food he ate - Turkey neck
Celebrities he saw - Bob Costas, Deli guy from the David Letterman Show, Donnie Osmond (twice), cast member of SNL (couldn't remember which one), David Neeleman (Jet Blue CEO).
Are you going to grow facial hair now? (on your mission you can't have facial hair) Todd said,"Yeah, I'll try!"
What things did you learn on your mission that you will continue to do now that you are home? Be more tidy, Read scriptures and go to Institute, eat vegetables and not be so picky with food.

A few things that Todd told us when he got home:
He talked to people from at least 61 different countries (he kept track).
Central Park was WAY bigger than he was expecting.

A few funny things Todd said when he got home:
He said everything looked the same at the house, just smaller.
He asked if Carter was 2 years old. (he's 9 mo. old)
He said,"Liam's walking now?" (Liam's 3 yrs. old)

It's only been 4 hours since he's been home (when I posted this) so we have lots of catching up to do and a lot more questions! It's good to have Todd home!





Before & After

Arriving at the airport.

Isn't this the coolest picture? It's Todd's favorite from his whole mission.

An area of The Bronx.

For all you Seinfeld fans!

Todd said this street was probably the worst street for drugs and very dangerous. He also said they felt safe though because they were missionaries. Everyone knows who they are and just leaves them alone!

Todd at the MET.

I'm calling this one "A Day In My Life".

Carter trying to sneak a little snack from Rex. He is at the lovely stage where he wants to eat anything he can get his hands on, esp. little random things off the floor that are invisible to the adult eye. Don't you love that stage?

Here is a picture of my awesome MiaMaid girls (14-16 yr. old girls I helped out with at church). I don't think I've ever had such a "down to earth" group of girls. They really treated us like their friends, not their leaders. Me, Dani, Christy, Heather, and Melissa (also a leader). We were missing two girls, Brittany and Madi. I'm going to miss those girls!


Wendy, Jennie, Lori B, Bonnie, Abby, & Lori. I'm REALLY REALLY going to miss the Girls Night Out group. I'll have to start my own wherever we end up because it is so awesome to go out with no kids, eat good food, and talk with other moms. I forgot to take a picture at my last Girls Night so you'll have to check out their blogs to see who they are! Don't have too much fun without me!