The Strupp Family

Holy where has the time gone?

2012-01-27T21:23:00.000-08:00

I can't believe May was my last post.....seriously fail at this blog posting stuff!

Well, quick update, Nyah is in ballet and loving life. She has her first recital and isn't shy at all, just plays to the crowd and is happy in front of as many people as possible. She did soccer during the summer and loved it as well. She is so outgoing and loves to be the center of attention. Shocker for those who know her I'm sure! Saibra is starting to be stubborn and loudspoken. She follows Nyah everywhere, which in turn causes a fight because Nyah does not like to be followed. However, when Nyah isn't around, Saibra is the sweetest and most helpful little girl ever. She should have been an only child!

We are expecting our third little one in July....kind of still in shock but obviously it's supposed to happen. Nyah wants a brother, Saibra said "I want mine to be a girl and I will call her Sally". Sally is still to be decided upon as is the gender of this baby. We are keeping busy (hence the lack of blog posts) and enjoying our friends and family so much. Hopefully one of these days I will be completely caught up on here.....the internet will probably crash on that day from shock!

Here's to next time!!!!

Some day......

2011-05-18T23:09:00.001-07:00

Some day I will have the pictures I have taken edited and post worthy.

Some day I will post pictures of my girls.

Some day I will have my blog completely caught up.

Some day it will stop raining and snowing.

Some day we will finally get to play outside.

Some day my foot will get better and I will be able to run again.

Some day we will have a better car.

Some day we will have our own place.

Some day I will understand the trials my family goes through.

Some day I'm going to have to be an adult and go to bed before 4 in the morning.

Until then...................

An old blog I meant to post but never did......

2010-10-02T22:24:00.000-07:00

Over the last couple of months, we have celebrated the 4th of July, had lots of birthdays (including mine), fished, camped, and played like crazy! (Pictures to come????) Over my birthday weekend, we went to the Utah State Fair with my sister, her sweet Hallie girl, Briana and Scott. We had so much fun, ate WAY too much and of course were reminded how trendy a mullet truly is!!! I was lame and didn't take my camera to the fair (for several reasons) but, we hung out in Evanston for a bit with my family so of course I got a few pictures of my girls!! Oh to be young and carefree again and not 28!!! (tear for how old I am)

We also decided to go golfing. When I say we, I mean Cliff and Nyah golfed. Saibra went around picking up the golf balls and I took pictures. I do have to say that Nyah is getting pretty good!

Internet on my phone has taken over.

2010-09-01T22:05:00.001-07:00

I am so thankfull for technology! After living in St. Kitts for 2 years where texting is the coolest thing you can do on your phone, I've kind of become addicted to having internet on my phone. Email automatically downloads, facebook pulls up in an instant.... The downside to that......This is the first time I've been on a computer in probably 3 or 4 months. It doesn't help that Cliff always has his laptop studying so I dred getting out this laptop with the black strip down the center because the pixels in the screen have gone bad. But, the fact that I got it out of storage is promising so look forward to some upcoming posts.

So funny I almost "Peed" my pants.

2010-06-29T13:30:00.000-07:00

I haven't posted anything forever but this is too great not to share. We are in Wyoming, my brother is here with his kids so Nyah and Saibra are having so much fun with their cousins.

Yesterday Nyah was in the backyard playing. I looked out and she had her pants down around her ankles and she was squatting in the sand box. I ran out and asked her what the heck she was doing and she said "I needed to go potty". I tried not to laugh and asked if she had peed her pants and she replied with "No, it's right there" (pointing to the wet spot in the sand box) I guess she was having way too much fun to bothered with trivial things such as peeing in the toilet. Oh to be a three year old!

Does Hannah Montana actually live in Montana???

2010-03-21T14:46:00.000-07:00

Oh I'm sure my little Hannah Montana lovin 3 year old wishes!
In February we made the long trip to Montana to see Grandma and Grandpa "with the puppies" (my girls have 7 Grandmas...we have to keep them straight some how) The girls had a blast which is more than I can say for the cats I'm sure. Anytime a cat was spotted the girls would run frantically, hoping for a quick snag.

Nyah also decided to do some painting. Grandma and Grandpa added on to their house and there was a paintbrush (with wet paint) sitting out. Why not put it to good use I'm sure Nyah thought, so she tried her artwork out on one of the walls. It wouldn't have been so bad if she would have painted the one wall with the dark burgundy paint from which the paint brush came, but instead...why not paint the light pink wall with the burgundy right?

Luckily there was one big distraction that both of the girls loved!! The HORSES!!!! Grandma Peggy with the puppies was nice enough to endure the cold and winey children who hate being bundled up....long enough to take both little darlings on a winter wonderland horse ride. Ok, so Saibra only lasted to the road and back but Nyah is die hard and went on what I would consider a rather lengthy ride for as cold as it was. I was informed that it wasn't long enough for her though. Oh well, I can only allow her to get frostbite so much until I'm considered by some to be a horrible mother. :)

We really had tons of fun and Cliff got to go to the hospital everyday and scrub in on surgeries with his dad. Maybe all of this moving and being broke stuff might work out in the end and he will be scrubbing in/performing surgeries all on his own......ahhh here's to that day and to our cute little girls who keep us oh so very busy!!! Love them!

Seriously She's 3....

2010-01-12T23:35:00.000-08:00

I am so behind on Posting!! For a brief update, we moved from Maine and are having a fantastic time staying with family in Wyoming/Utah and soon to be Montana. More on this later....I just realized we've been so busy that I didn't post anything for My sweet Nyah Jane's birthday!!!!

She turned 3 can you believe it? I can't, I swear she acts like a 15 year old at times!!! For example, one day we were in Bed Bath and Beyond with my sister and her and Nyah were holding hands. Nyah looked up at Laura and said..."I feel like we're best friends"!! Everyday this little girl amazed me! Here are some of the many things we love about Nyah!!

*She is always willing to give you a hug
*She LOVES her sister
*She loves her cousins, aunts, uncles, grandmas, grandpas (you get the idea, she loves her family)
*She loves Barbies, Babies, playing dress up, tea parties, and all wonderful pink and girly things!!
*She loves to sing and dance and can do a mean Hannah Montana Hoedown throwdown!!!
*she knows her primary songs, numbers, alphabet, colors and of course words that a 3 year old shouldn't know like "I'm gonna kick your butt"
*She is always willing to help, you just have to know how to nudge her the right way!
*She is a DAREDEVIL, nothing scares her which gets her into trouble at times!
*She makes us laugh EVERYDAY!
*She is a beautiful little girl! I love her golden locks, big brown eyes and EVERYTHING ABOUT HER!!!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY MY SWEET AND SPUNKY LITTLE GIRL!!! YOU KEEP ME ON MY TOES EVERYDAY!!!!!

I can't believe she's ONE!!

2009-11-24T23:31:00.000-08:00

The past year seriously flew by! I remember sitting in the hospital last year at this very time, unable to sleep. I had a new baby, my husband was on an island thousands of miles away from me and it was the first night I had EVER spent away from Nyah. As tired as I was from having a baby, I didn't sleep at all that night. Now that I look back on it, I'm sad it went by so fast but so thankful my family is all together. So here is a little info on the birthday girl.

Saibra Nicole.......

Saibra is the happiest and sweetest baby I have ever seen. I know, you're thinking that I'm her mom so I have to say that, but she really is the best baby ever.

She loves to give kisses and cuddle, and she loves her big sister more than anything!!

She has always been an "over-achiever"! She rolled over at 2 months, crawled at 5 months and started walking at 10 months.

She can say ball, baby, daddy, momma, go, ouch, ya, and NyNy for Nyah. She is such a blessing in our lives and I am so thankful for the wonderful sweet little girl that she is! Happy Birthday Saibra!!!!

Ahhh....the park!

2009-11-16T23:33:00.000-08:00

The weather was absolutely beautiful here today. So while Cliff studied at the hospital, I took the girls to the park. Saibra loves the swings and I just can't get over this picture. She's laughing so hard that it looks like she's scared/happy!

Anyway, the playground is divided into two sides, one for kids 2-5 years old and another for 5 and up. Which side do you think Nyah would play on? Oh yes that's right....the one with the big kids. She HAS to go down the BIGGEST slide

and run with all of the other "BIG"kids. Definately keeps her busy and I'm ok with that! Just glad she's having fun and enjoying the outdoors while she can!

As for a little update, Saibra "runs" everywhere. She started walking almost 2 months ago. I think she's so proud of herself for walking that she doesn't want to stop so she literally walks from the door to the couch, to the door, to the kitchen, back to the couch, and chases Nyah everywhere! They have become such good little friends and play tag and of course dolls together all the time. Of course Nyah, still has to pick on Saibra now and then to make sure she knows who's in charge. Speaking of Nyah, .She learned how to do somersaults last night and now does them through the room (I'm sure the people below us are thrilled), she can tell you the WHOLE story of 5 little monkeys jumping on the bed, and for some reason today asked me if I remembered riding horses at Grandma's house. She said "mommy, you rode Shadow and he's black.....what is Pate again?" I told her he's brown and white and is called an Appaloosa. FYI......"NEW WORD FOR THE MONTH"! Nyah now walks around saying "Appaloosa.....Pate is an Appaloosa.....brown and white....Appaloosa, App....a....loosa!!!!! Sigh, I love these little girls of mine!!!

I love my teeny tiny girl!!

2009-10-21T22:29:00.000-07:00

So I've noticed in most of my posts, that they are mainly about Nyah. I know the reason why, because I always have Saibra in the front carrier when we're out and about so....she gets left out of the pictures. But, I just want to let everyone know a little bit about Saibra this time.

She is the sweetest and best baby I could have ever asked for! She always has a smile on her face and just loves life. Everyday I think, Wow....it's a good thing she is such a good baby with the energetic, neverstopping 2 year old sister that she has. But, don't you worry, she loves her sister more than anything. In fact Saibra started crawling at 5 months and walking at 10 months just so she could keep up and follow Nyah around. I am so blessed to have 2 beautiful and wonderfull little girls!!!

Cowgirls don't cry.......

2009-10-21T21:07:00.000-07:00

When we lived in St. Kitts, "Grandma Peggy with the Puppies", as Nyah calls her, sent Nyah 2 little horses that looked just like the real ones at Grandma's house. Everyday Nyah would tell us how when she got back to the states, she was going to ride the horses with "Grandma Peggy with the Puppies". Sure enough, everyday that we were at Grandma's house, she rode the horse and was in absolute heaven.

The following pictures are from a trail ride that Nyah, Peggy, and I took to the Seven Sisters Wildlife Refuge. It was the most beautiful, serene place ever and Nyah and I loved every moment of it! Oh and yes, the horse is jumping over the log with Nyah and Grandma! What can I say "Grandma Peggy with the Puppies" ROCKS!!!

Cousins, Camping, and the Cool Mountain Air!

2009-09-12T20:44:00.000-07:00

Well as most of you know, we no longer live in St. Kitts. On August 15th we made the long journey back to the good ol' U.S.A. Just in time for my mommy's birthday, some fun with my cousins, Nyah and Saibra's cousins and who-ever elses cousins happened to be around. We had great food, went camping in the beautiful Uinta mountains, and took the girls to Provo Falls. Oh how I missed the mountains!!!!

Enjoying the time we have left!

2009-08-05T17:14:00.000-07:00

As we are nearing our end here on the island, we have decided to try and spend as much time at the pool/ocean as possible. Nyah is definately ok with it. Since we have moved to the hotel, Nyah has had to wear floaties because the pool is 4 ft. deep everywhere. Well, This last month, she has decided she doesn't want her floaties, she can swim like a big girl. She has always been a little daring, she would jump in, go under the water, and whatever else you dared her to do. Now she swims completely on her own and yes she is only 2!!!!

Hoping she'll be a golfer too......

2009-08-05T15:39:00.000-07:00

Cliff and Charlie went golfing so Nyah and I decided to tag along to see the view. Of course she wasn't about to stay in the cart so Cliff decided to let her give putting a try and Charlie even let her drive the golf cart. She had a blast!

What to do on a rainy day!

2009-07-04T14:16:00.000-07:00

In May, we decided to move to a resort here on the island. As the hotter season gets closer, the electric bills get higher and everything is included at the hotel so we can run the A/C non-stop! YAY!! The first week that we moved in it rained for 2 days straight so we decided to take advantage of our fun little patio and 1/2 basketball court. Nyah and I had a tea party outside with Cheeze-its and kool-aid and later on we played some basketball with Cliff. I know it seems like Saibra is never in any of the pictures but she's always in the front carrier and I'm always the one taking the pictures.

Might as well be blogging!

2009-07-04T12:09:00.000-07:00

Since we live in a country that doesn't celebrate the fourth of July, I decided to catch up on some blogging. A month ago we went on a Catamaran trip and took the girls. It was with Cliff's school and was an absolute blast. They had tons of food, friends and was something we will remember forever. We took Nyah's "floaties" as she calls them so she could swim in the ocean. She has never been out "in the ocean" she is always just around the beach so we weren't quite sure how she'd react. Well, she loved it! Cliff and I took turns with Saibra and Nyah pretty much stayed in the ocean the whole time. While we were snorkeling, she would sit on our backs and just relax. Never a dull moment with this child.

Forgot about the Easter Pictures.

2009-05-17T17:36:00.000-07:00

In looking through all of our pictures today, I noticed that I have all of these cute Easter pictures and I didn't post them. So, here you go. This Easter was our first official try at "dying easter eggs" with Nyah. She loved it and we managed to keep the apartment surprisingly clean.

For Easter, I had my mom send me some fun toys, coloring books, and candy. My mom was nice enough to buy the girls Easter dresses and include them. Nyah was so excited to see her new dresses and everytime she wears them to church she has to tell how she got them from Grandma on Easter. Oh, the dress that Saibra is wearing is the dress that Nyah wore on her first Easter. I decided to kind of make it a fun tradition to have them wear the same dress for their first Easter. I love my cute little girls!!!

Fun with U.M.H.S.

2009-05-07T16:19:00.000-07:00

Cliff's school had an end of the semester sunfest. They had all you can eat hamburgers, french fries, hot dogs and other good food and all you could drink coke, sprite, ting, etc. They also rented jet ski's, a giant trampoline that they had in the ocean and banana boats. Nyah had so much fun the whole day. Cliff took her on the jet ski's and the trampoline and she just smiled and laughed the whole time. She really is such a little dare devil. Saibra of course was an angel and slept most of the day! She is such a good baby! We only have 3 months left down here and this day definately made us sad to have such a short amount of time down here.

Cliff's Birthday...

2009-04-23T08:16:00.000-07:00

Ok So I am really behind on this. Cliff's Birthday was a month and a half ago. That's right he's the big '30'. To celebrate we went to a really good steak house with 13 of our friends. Unfortunately, we sat there for an hour and still hadn't received menus. So, we packed it up and headed over to the only other place open....the Marriot. The service was so much better but by the time we got there the kids were about to go crazy from sitting so long. Also, there menu isn't exactly extravagant, so instead of steak he ended up with a turkey sandwhich. Now the highlight of the night should have been the cake that I made right? But, as most of you know, we have a mini-oven down here that is gas so.....I burned the bottom of the cake. Not the ideal birthday dinner I'm sure but what can you do when you don't have Applebees, Outback, Texas Roadhouse or Wal-mart to save the day. We did have fun with all of our friends and we probably won't forget the experience we had on Cliff's 30th Birthday!!

Here a chick, There a chick.......

2009-04-01T07:18:00.001-07:00

As most of you know, we have about a hundred chickens and roosters in our yard all of the time. Ok maybe not a hundred but sometimes it feels like that. They really are kind of a pain because they get into our garbage, poop on our yard and they don't have an owner so they just keep multiplying.

When we first moved here, Nyah loved to chase the chickens out of the yard and we were glad to let her do it.

Now, however, she has decided that she likes the chickens and one day asked if we could feed the "baby chicks". Me being the sucker for the cute baby chicks and the cute look on Nyah's face, let her feed them some cornflakes. To make a long story a little shorter, Nyah would ask everyday if she could feed the baby chicks and I would get her a cup of cornflakes and she would throw them out onto the lawn. Soon the baby chicks started to really like Nyah and when we would come home from the store or go out to hang up the laundry, they would follow us around. Not a big deal right? That's what I thought and I WAS WRONG! One day we came home from getting groceries and we all were in the backroom with the door shut (since it's air conditioned). When I came out, there were 3 baby chicks in my bathroom chirping. They had figured out how to get through the screen door and were trying to get to Nyah. I screamed of course, not because they scared me but out of surprise I guess. So we shut them in the bathroom so we wouldn't literally scare the "poop" out of them, went and opened up the back door and Nyah and I sat on the couch while Cliff herded them out. They walked out of the bathroom and out the back door like it wasn't a big deal. One of them however got distracted and decided to try and go out the curtain covered windows and got stuck. This was Nyah's favorite part because Cliff grabbed the baby chicken and it "pooped on the floor". (Nyah's words exactly) So this was our adventure with the baby chicks. We no longer feed them and Nyah now chases them out of the yard again. If you ever want to hear the story feel free to call us because Nyah loves to tell how the chickens pooped on the floor!!!

My try at scrapbooking.....

2009-03-20T12:41:00.000-07:00

Nyah loves to go out in the yard with her Daddy and catch Lizards! At first we thought she would be afraid of them but she loves to hold them and even kiss them! She is such a brave little girl!!!

Saibra's blessing

2009-02-24T18:19:00.000-08:00

On January 18th, Cliff blessed Saibra here in the St. Kitts branch. It was definately a bittersweet moment since we didn't have our family here but it was a unique experience that we will never forget. The branch presidency stood with him and he gave a beautiful blessing. I am so thankful to have such a wonderful husband that holds the priesthood and can bless our little girls.

(We tried to take a picture of them when we got home from church but Saibra would not have it!)

(Until after she took a nap)

Swimming, swimming, in the swimming pool........and the Caribbean sea.......

2009-02-24T13:46:00.000-08:00

We decided that we should start getting Saibra used to our lifestyle here on the island. We took her swimming at the Marriot and then to one of our favorite beaches called "Shipwreck". The weather is perfect here. It is about 80 degrees all day, but the ocean and swimming pool water is pretty cold. The second Saibra's foot touched the water she started screaming. She is definately not a fan of the cold water. Nyah doesn't seem to care though. If there is water around, she is in it. I think Saibra would rather lay on the chairs and watch/listen to the waves until she falls asleep. They say the ocean is soothing, boy does she take advantage of that.

While we were at shipwreck, the owners cut up sugar cane and gave it to some monkeys. Nyah thought it was the coolest thing ever. She loves it when we see monkeys. I threaten her somedays that she might have to go and live with them cus she's acting like one! She says ok, I live with the monkeys.

Nyah's favorite things........

2009-02-23T09:28:00.000-08:00

For those of you that know Nyah, you know that she is an energetic, overzealous 21 year old trapped in a 2 year old's body! She loves to help me cook, clean, and do anything that involves her new "baby Saibra" (as she calls her). She'll even help me change her diaper and burp her.

Lately we've tried to be creative while Cliff has been in school all day. Here are some of Nyah's newly discovered favorites......

Tents with baby dolls and oreos...

Sticker Faces......

makeup parties ( I think she got the better end of the deal though).......

running around the backyard in her "big girl pants" (Hurray she's potty trained!!).......

and taking naps with her "baby Saibra"..........

She definately keeps me busy and my life would be so boring without her.

Photogenic or not, I think they're beautiful!!

2009-02-20T05:46:00.000-08:00

While traveling back to the island, we didn't get a lot of pictures of Saibra. She was in a front carrier and covered in a blanket to try and somewhat "shield" her during the wonderful R.S.V. season. So, I decided to take some pictures of my new cute girl and her cute big sister too.

A change in the weather....Freezing to Melting!!

2009-02-20T04:41:00.000-08:00

The day we left Utah to come back to the island, it was freezing. My dad had to take us to the airport because the roads were horrible and he is the only one with 4-wheel drive. Nyah did get some good quality time in the snow before we came back though!

For this trip back, we decided to get Nyah her own "rolling princess bag". Boy was she excited. Usually we have to put her in her stroller or she runs crazy but with her princess bag, she listened to every word and followed us everywhere. I think she thought she was such a big girl pulling her suitcase just like mommy and daddy. Best investment ever!!!

We decided that since we were traveling with a newborn and a 2 year old that a 14 hr. layover would be spent best at a hotel so we stayed the night in Atlanta. We had a ton of luggage so everyone kept asking us if we were moving. We just laughed and said sure. So staying the night in Atlanta made the trip so much easier. Nyah wasn't as exhausted and Cliff and I actually enjoyed traveling. That is until we got to St. Maarten.

The day we left Atlanta we had a 4 1/2 hour flight to St. Maarten. Not that bad I agree. Well we were supposed to only have a 2 hour layover in St. Maarten and it turned out to be closer to almost 5. We were so exhausted and Nyah couldn't handle sitting anymore. To top it off, the plane we flew on to St. Kitts only fit about 10 people. It was the smallest plane I have ever seen in my life. Let me just explain how small; I had to almost get on my knees to get through the door, no flight attendant, we didn't have seatbelts because let's be honest you go down in one of these you don't have a chance, and the pilot didn't have a seperate cabin he was sitting right in front of us. I hated it the whole time!! Here I am with my 2 year old and newborn baby thinking I've made it this far and this is the way I'm gonna die...... In a dinky little airplane not even 20 minutes from our island??? Well obviously we made it but I will never fly Win-air again!!

Can't find the time!!!

2009-02-19T15:28:00.001-08:00

I can't seem to find the time to keep my blog updated. Everyday, I check to see who has added something new and I think to myself "man I should update mine"! About that time, Saibra is hungry, the laundry is done and needs to be hung up, or Nyah is wanting to play. I suck at managing my time I guess. So, here goes with completing my story of our trip back to the states.

The day after we got back from Montana, I had my wisdom teeth taken out. I only had 2 so it wasn't horrible but it was the day before New Year's Eve and with my family, that means amazingly good food. Well, not for me!! We went to my dad's house in Provo and hung out with my brother Jeremy and his family and my sister Laura and her family. We had such a good time. We went to dinner at Tucanos and stayed up most of the night playing games.

(My fat cheeks after getting my wisdom teeth out)

( The family at Tucanos)

On New Years Day, Nyah and Mia wanted to play in the snow so Grandpa decided to pull them on a sled behind the four wheeler. They had a blast and loved it. They also went sledding down a hill right by my dad's house.

After our New Year's fun, we went to Evanston to have Christmas with my Mom and Grandparents. Nyah of course got another baby. (I think there might be a pattern here!) She absolutely loved my Grandma's tree and laid in front of it for hours just staring. She also loved playing the piano. Looks like she might take after her mommy a little bit! It's fun to see yourself in your kids. Saibra was her usual sweet self and I think just enjoyed being held by her Grandparents. Laura and Nathan were in Evanston too so with their twins and Saibra it sounded and looked like a nursery. So much fun!

We had such a great time with our families and were sad to leave. We love them all so much!!

Continuing on......Part 2

2009-01-18T15:39:00.000-08:00

To continue on with my time back in the states, On December 5th Nyah turned 2 and Cliff again got to be with us through the webcam. I can't believe my little girl is 2 but it turned out to be such a fun night. Briana, Scott, and my Dad and Debbie came up to my brother Jeremy's house and we had great food, Nyah opened presents, and of course lots of cake!

Cliff finally arrived on December 16th. It had been 7 weeks since we had seen him and I wasn't sure how Nyah would react. Unfortunately I don't have any pictures since I had Saibra in her carrier and Nyah by the hand but as soon as Nyah saw Cliff she took off running and jumped into his arms. From then on she wouldn't let him out of her sight. If he went to the bathroom, she sat outside the door, he had to put her to bed at night or she would scream for him, and everywhere we went she had to hold "daddy's" hand. I think she missed him!

About a week after Cliff arrived in the states, we decided to drive to Montana to visit his parents in their new house. The day we left Utah, a huge snow storm hit Utah, Idaho, Wyoming, and Montana. A 12 hour drive took 18 hours because the roads were so bad.

That was quite the adventure driving 18 hours with 2 kids wow! Anyway, we arrived in Montana and had so much fun. Cliff's parents live on almost 80 acres of land so we went pheasant hunting, rode horses, and pulled Nyah on the sled. So much fun!

For Christmas, Nyah really wanted a baby. She has about 15 but this one looked at you when you talked, cried real tears, burped, and went to sleep when you gave her a bottle. So, the week before Christmas, we told her that she had to be such a good girl and Santa might bring her a baby. Well when Christmas morning came, Grandma Strupp told her that Santa had come and she immediately said "BABY" and ran over to the presents under the tree. She was so excited to get the baby she had wanted. Grandma and Grandpa Strupp also gave her a baby for Christmas that was similar in size to the one from Santa so she of course had to care for both of them. For those of you that don't know, my sister had twins in September and Nyah loves them so I think she just figured that she had twins to take care of now.

We had such a Merry Christmas in Montana and had a great time hanging out with the family!!!

Only 2 months behind.....

2009-01-13T13:35:00.000-08:00

Ok, I might be a little behind on my blogging. I guess that's what happens when you have a baby, finally get to see your husband after 2 months, travel to Montana and all over Wyoming and Utah, and finally fly back to the caribbean island that you live on. But now I have a lot of news and memories to share with everyone! I won't put them all in one blog because I know how some people hate that so I'll try and divide everything into 3 parts.

The first and most important thing is that we had our SECOND little girl. Let me introduce you to Saibra Nicole Strupp, born November 24th at 12:30 p.m. and weighed 7 lbs 1 oz and was 21 inches long. The delivery was an experience Cliff and I will never forget......

At 7 a.m. I went into MckayDee Hospital by myself for a scheduled induction. For those of you that don't know, Cliff is in Medical School on an island in the Caribbean called St. Kitts. Nyah and I came back to the states October 21st so I could have help with the baby from my family and Cliff could stay and focus on school. Also, on the island they don't believe in epidurals and I am definately not one of those women that would ever want to try and have a baby naturally. Anyway, they started me on pitocin at about 9 a.m. and my mom and Grandma got to the hospital at about 10. The hospital staff made it possible for me to hook our webcam up so that Cliff could in a way be there when our baby was born. At 12:25 p.m. they said that I was already at a 10, so no indepth details but she was born at 12:30, only a 3 1/2 hour labor. My mom held the webcam up so Cliff could see the baby born (from my perspective of course) and that's how Saibra Nicole joined our family.

Fun with the Family!

2008-11-23T13:30:00.000-08:00

This last week after we got Brett's farewell over with, the weather in Evanston was beautiful. So, we spent as much time outside as we possibly could. We played basketball, soccer, frisbee golf, and of course we played at the park. Nyah loved being outside. I think she was beginning to get a little stir crazy since we were outside everyday on the island and here it has been too cold.

She of course had to do everything we were doing and do it on her own. If I threw the frisbee, she had to and if her cousin Mia went down the steepest scariest slide, she had to do it too, but by herself. She is such a daredevil I wonder if her little sister will be able to keep up with her.....

Just a little behind.....

2008-11-20T14:38:00.000-08:00

Since I have been back in the states, it feels like I have been going non-stop! Which is a good thing because it has somewhat taken my mind off of missing Cliff. I wish I had pictures of everything but unfortunately when I'm pregnant, I somewhat lose my mind in the process. So first off, my little brother took out his endowments in the Ogden Temple. It was so great to be able to go through with him. He has matured so much over the last year and is going to make such a great missionary.

On October 29th, we celebrated my brother Jeremy's birthday. We went bowling, ate amazing cheeseburgers and fries, and I baked him his favorite, banana cake.

Then of course we have my least favorite holiday, Halloween. I have never liked this holiday. My brother says it's the one holiday where we dress our children up like demons and devils and teach them to beg. Anyway, I do have pictures of Nyah in her cute princess dress though. I'm surprised she kept it on because when I went to get her dressed, she kicked and screamed and did not want to put it on. A great way to start the night! The first stop was at Grandma Herman's house for some trick-or-treating and then my mom took her to a couple houses on the street. Then we had the long awaited trunk-or-treat. It was cold outside so they just lined all of the adults up with their candy and had the kids walk from person to person. She wasn't sure what to think about it at first but once they started giving her candy she was good to go!

A couple days after Halloween, it started to snow and was beautifull!! So, I decided to be creative and make a gingerbread house from scratch. Usually my mom, grandma, and I make smaller ones and they take us about 3 days. Well I wanted to go all out so I drove around Evanston and took pictures of old houses and made a pattern for a gingerbread mansion. Instead of the usual double batch, we had to 7 times it. Needless to say, it took me a week to finish but it was a lot of fun and turned out really cute!!

This last Sunday was my little brother's farewell. He is going to the Cherry Hill New Jersey Mission. So, Saturday night I stayed up with him til about 4:30 a.m. to help him write his talk and then Sunday after the farewell we had a dinner so it was a fun day. All of our family came up so we had an all night, all day party. We stayed up and played games, had a ton of food, and just enjoyed each other's company. I truly love my family. Next up, having our second little girl!!

I Don't know if I can do this!!!!

2008-10-19T10:27:00.000-07:00

For those of you that don't know, tomorrow I leave to go back to the states. I know everyone is saying isn't that a good thing? I get to go back to civilization, see my family and friends, plus I am going back to have our second little girl. Well yes those are all good things but I'm having to face the hardest thing ever in my life.

Cliff and I have been married for 6 years. The longest we have ever been away from each other is 9 days and that was torcher!!! When I leave tomorrow, I won't get to see Cliff again until the 15th of December. That's right, 5 days short of being 2 MONTHS. He won't be able to be there when I have the baby, for Thanksgiving, or for Nyah's birthday and I seriously don't know what I'm going to do everyday without my best friend. We do everything together all of the time and I know I'm going to be lost. You might ask why I don't just stay on the island and have the baby? Well, we figured that since they are a little behind the times with technology and everything here that we would rather be safe and make sure that nothing goes wrong to endanger the babies life or mine. I am already 35 weeks pregnant so I'm sure I'm pushing it staying this long but I just couldn't bring myself to leave any earlier. I am so sad to leave him !! Any words of wisdom or encouragement, I will gladly take right now.

Raindrops keep falling on my head......

2008-10-16T19:47:00.000-07:00

Last night, Nyah and I experienced our first hurricane. I say just Nyah and I because Cliff went through Hurricane Mitch on his mission in Honduras in 1997. Hurricane Omar started to hit at about 1:00 a.m. and lasted til about 4:00 a.m. Luckily the eye didn't pass over us but it was still something I will never forget!! Cliff and Nyah slept through the whole thing. (Shocking I know) I preoccupied myself by texting my brother Jeremy back in the states. Thanks Jeremy, Love ya!!

I have never heard wind, rain, and thunder so powerful in my life. The lightning would flash and last for about 2 minutes. Just to give you an idea of how strong the winds and rain were, the rain hitting our window sounded like someone was using a power washer and spraying it right on our window, and the wind bent our palm trees in our back yard in half and shook the bars on the inside of our windows. Also, the thunder would last for about 30 seconds each time and would shake the house and it sounded like the whole island was grumbling. It was pretty amazing. I just wish that it would have hit during the day so that we could have seen everything. But yesterday morning, my friend Paula and I took some before pictures so we could see what damage was done. We went today to get the after shots. If you want to see more, you can go to the island website. http://www.sknvibes.com/hurricaneomar/

Here comes the rain!!!!

Bay Road: All of the sand on the road was the beach. It filled to about a foot below the cement drop off.

The tops of some of the palm trees were completely blown off.

Nyah and her friend Morgan standing by the top of the palm tree that was blown off.

A Flooded Sugar Cane Field.

The Waves at Port Zante.

Alot of the trash accumulated to one spot in the peer.

Bird Rock hotel had severe damage done to it. Where the boat is and all of the rocks, that is usually a road. The waves were so high and strong the it ripped the road apart and threw huge chunks of cement into the hotel.

This was the bar/restaurant.

Timothy Beach Before.....

Timothy Beach After....

The road that runs behind all of the shacks on Timothy Beach is no covered with water.

Several of the trees were uprooted.

Hundreds of people came out to see the damage.

A jet ski was washed about a mile away from the shack where it was stored.

Nyah checking out the waves....

To me they already look alike!!

2008-10-11T18:52:00.000-07:00

When we went back to the states in August, we were fortunate enough to have a 3-D ultrasound done. When I was pregnant with Nyah, Pocatello wasn't quite up to speed with the latest technology so we were way excited this time to have one done!! To me, they already look alike. What do you think???

Nyah's turning into a fish while the power's out!!

2008-10-08T20:59:00.000-07:00

For a quick update to any wondering, our power situation has gotten a little better here on the island. (knock on wood) Lately we have had power from 9 at night until about 11:30 in the morning. Basically we have it at night but not during the hottest part of the day. This so far I can handle. It was the sleeping at night in the heat that killed me for a bit. However, we still have the issue of sitting in a hot apartment without a.c., fans, or cold water literally all day. The only conclusion we have come to is to hang out at a pool or a beach. So, I thought Nyah was a fish before but wow I had no idea what a week without power and constantly being in the water would do.

Today we went to the Marriot with some friends. The little girl that we went with is 4 years old and swims better than most 10 or 11 year olds I've seen. Well of course, Nyah wants to be just like her. If Morgan would go to the deep end, Nyah would follow and try to go to the deep end. If Morgan would go underwater, Nyah would want to go underwater. I'm sure you get the idea. Well Morgan's mom has a sweet underwater camera and was taking pictures of Morgan underwater and Nyah thought that she would like to try it too so...... here are some fun pictures that we took today while passing the time.

(I promise in this one she's not drowning, she sat down and went underwater like Morgan and came up smiling!! :D)

Making the best of it.....

2008-10-05T17:14:00.000-07:00

This last week we have had little to no power here on the island. Two of the main engines at the power plant were burned up so they have had us on a load shedding schedule. This means that they rotate the power throughout the different sections of the island. This way everyone gets power for a couple of hours and then it rotates to another section. Well this would be tolerable if they actually stuck to that plan. Unfortunately, we got skipped. Our power went off at 7:30 a.m. and didn't come back on until 3 p.m. the next day. All of the food in our fridge went bad, we haven't been able to do laundry, and the worst part for me is that we haven't had air conditioning at night. All of this aside, we've been trying to make the best of it. Because I am 33 weeks pregnant the severe heat here makes me a little sick so we have been living at the beach or the pool. Let's just say Nyah is loving life! Every morning she wakes up and says "SWIMMING"!! She has been such a good little girl through the heat and dark nights I can't even begin to explain how great she's been. If only I could suck it up like she has.

Our day at the Pool....

2008-09-26T21:42:00.000-07:00

Since we've been back, it has rained almost everday and we haven't been able to go swimming. One thing that Nyah loves to do is to go to the pool or the ocean. So, Cliff got out of class early one day this week and we decided to take Nyah swimming. She was so excited and just kept running through the house yelling "SWIMMING"! She got her swimsuit out by herself and everything.

She loves to ride on Cliff's back and helps him kick while they're swimming. After a couple of minutes in the pool, she remembered how brave she can be and started jumping in to us and going under water.

Cliff decided to see just how brave she was, so he jumped into the deep end of the pool while holding her. She was scared at first but after she heard us cheering she started clapping and was so proud of herself.

It's always a fun day when we take Nyah to the pool. She is such a go-getter and keeps us on our toes. I Can't wait to see how this next little girl will be.

My VERY Happy Birthday!!!

2008-09-26T19:43:00.000-07:00

So everyone that knows me knows that I hate birthdays. I like everyone elses but I just don't like my own. So, this year of course I was dreading turning 26. But to my surprise....it turned out to be a fabulous day!!!

To start the day off, Cliff and Nyah gave me an hour long prenatal massage at the Emerald Mist Spa. My good friend Kristin got to come with me and we had so much fun!

After our amazing massages, we decided to do a little sight seeing. So we went around the whole island (literally) and saw all of the sights. The first place we went to was a fun place called Romney Manor. It has a clothing store called Caribelle Batik but it was the weekend of St. Kitts' independance day so it was closed. Oh well, we got to see some amazing flowers and TONS of monkeys.

Then we went to Brimstone Hill Fortress. It was absolutely gorgeous. It was so lush and green that I swore we were looking at pictures of Scotland. The best part was that it was rainy, cloudy, and windy and all of the locals were freezing but I was loving life. Definately the coolest I've been since we've lived here.

The last sight that we went to was Black Rock. It is on the Atlantic Ocean side and has quite the view. Nyah fell asleep in the car so that's why she isn't in the pictures with us.

Overall it was such a Happy Birthday! We had a lot of fun and the weather was just the way I like it. Cold (somewhat anyway) and rainy!!! Happy Birthday to me!!!

White Coat Ceremony

2008-09-14T20:11:00.000-07:00

This week was our first official week back on the island after a vacation to the states. It has rained everyday that we've been back so far. For the first little while I was ok with it because it somewhat felt cooler than what I had remembered. Boy was I wrong!! There have been days when the sun is shining and it is raining out. This of course makes the humidity about 90% so top that with fabulous 100 degree heat and I am dying! Oh well, that's why they call it a tropical island during hurricane season.

But I mention the humidity because on Thursday this week, Cliff's school had a white coat ceremony for the 1st and 2nd semester Medical students. I guess they do this at every medical school. (I had no idea) To start out the ceremony they had the governor of St. Kitts and Nevis parade in with music playing and escorts. Then they had 2 girls sing the national anthem from the U.S. and then a guy from St. Kitts sang their national anthem. After a couple of speeches, which I fought Nyah to sit through, they had the official white coat ceremony. Each student walked down and signed their name in the U.M.H.S. book of records.

They said that every medical school has a book of records and every medical student signs it. Then the professors from the school helped each student put on their "White Coat" signifying that they are in medical school and would become Doctors. It was pretty neat to see Cliff walk down there and sign his name in the book and have his white coat put on. He already looks like a Doctor to me!!!

You're still probably wondering what the humidity has to do with all of this. Well, since we have lived here and I have been pregnant, I have been so sick that I haven't exactly gone out of my way to look amazing. On Thursday, I wanted to actually look like a girl for once so I straightened my hair, did my makeup, and put on a cute skirt. The ceremony was in doors so it was air conditioned and my hair stayed pretty good. Well, during the ceremony we could hear it pouring outside and of course they're not going to take pictures inside!!! We walked outside and my nice straight hair just went "POOF" frizzy, wavy, and a complete waste of time. So here in these cute pictures, I again look like I didn't take the time to look presentable. But now I have a back story so hopefully those of you with curly hair can relate!! Atleast my family looks adorable!

The trip back to the states

2008-09-07T19:50:00.000-07:00

We recently got to go back to the states for Cliff's sister's wedding. It was so great to go back and see everyone and to feel the crisp mountain air. I don't think anyone really understands just what crisp mountain air feels like unless they've been to an island in the caribbean during hurricane season. The humidity and heat are almost too much to bare! Anyway, I traveled back to the states alone with Nyah a couple days before Cliff came and wow was that an adventure. Just a word of advice to those that are 6 1/2 months pregnant, don't travel for 24 hours with a 1 1/2 year old. No matter what, it is not worth it. She not only wanted to run the whole time we were in the airport but also had to sit on my lap which of course is somewhat blocked by my nice pregnant stomach. But 24 hours later we were in Utah and happy to see family.

For the wedding, I actually got to play wedding planner which was pretty fun. I was incharge of the decorations and food for the reception in Soda Springs, Idaho. I have always enjoyed planning parties and family dinners but had never gone to the extent of planning a wedding reception. (other than my own) Needless to say, I had a lot of help from our sister-in-law Kim, and Cliff's cousins so everything turned out amazingly!! Who knows I might do it again sometime.

Overall it was an eventfull trip.

We had a baby shower for my sister that is pregnant with twins,

the wedding for Briana

and to end it, my brother blessed his new baby girl Preslie Kay.

It was so great to be able to make it to all of these events and to spend time with our families. Nyah had so much fun playing at all of her Grandparent's houses and especially being around all of her cousins! She couldn't get enough of them!! We can't wait for October when we get to see everyone again! LOVE YOU ALL!!!!