November 2013

It is already December and there is so much that I haven't blogged about that we did in November so here it is! 

On November 9th we went to the CALM Zoo here in Bakersfield. It is a Zoo that has all the animals that one would see in the wild in California! 

We saw a Black Bears! 

 

 A Red Fox

Bobcats

Mountain Lions 

Mule deers 

Beavers

And so many other animals... raccoons, owls, eagles, coyotes, all sorts of snakes and lizards, badgers, possums, and a porcupine to name a few more! 

We had such a fun time being out and about and enjoying some fun animals! We can't wait to enjoy things like this with our future kids! 

On November 14th some ladies in my ward here threw me a baby shower! When Brad dropped me off we were able to get a picture together with the adorable owl decorations! 

 Becky Foulk was so kind to open her home to let us celebrate! 

Shortly after Brad left the Ladies Arrived! 

(L to R Back Row: Alexis Swanson, Alesia Lawson, Jeanette McArthur, Sharon Scott, Tina Portwood, Jennifer Weight, Adrienne Weighall, Me, Michelle Sneath, Stacie Dartnell. Front Row: Jessie Larsen, Becky Foulk, and Oliva Weighall.) Not Pictured Kathy Bulkeley. Also who brought gifts were Linda Greer and Teri and Jackie Andersen! 

We had so much fun playing games and the ladies made the gifts for Aubrey so personal! With homemade dolls, headbands, diaper clutch, crocheted hats and booties, and darling clothes and books! I loved them all! They have all been so welcoming since we have moved down here and have been so supportive of Brad and I. 

This is Becky the host of the shower! We have become great friends in the last few months that we have lived here in Bakersfield. 

Becky is a single mom and has two adorable kids! She is an amazing woman who has had us over for Sunday dinner every week, for several Family Home Evenings, and we have been out on several afternoon outings. I have been blessed to have such a great friend as her!

Alesia was also a huge help with the shower. She was in charge of all of the creative games! Alesia is such a wonderful woman! I have loved getting to know her and have built a great friendship with her as well! She is a recent convert to the LDS church and is just so awesome! 

I am really going to miss all of these wonderful ladies when we move! Thank goodness for Facebook and technology so we can keep in touch! 

On November 16th Brad and I were able to witness the Baptism of Sandra Dotson. Sandra is in her 60's and we have had the great opportunity of helping her to learn about the gospel with being ward missionaries. She has come to know our Savior, Jesus Christ, and has made drastic changes in her life in order to be Baptized. We were so excited for her. It was such a busy day for her that we didn't have time to take a picture but she was the happiest I had ever seen her that day! 

On November 20th was my 23rd Birthday! 

It started out with me going to the doctors office to do my 2 hour glucose test! It wasn't the worst but wasn't my favorite either! I had to get my blood drawn 3 times within the 2 hours. (which ended up getting poked 5 times because they missed twice..)  

But after the 2 hour waiting period I had a lot of fun! 

I met up with several ladies from church and we enjoyed the beautiful 70 degree weather at Camille's Sidewalk Cafe! Never in my life could I say I sat in the sun for my birthday Lunch! California does have beautiful Fall weather! 

We all had fabulous food! I enjoyed a Chicken sandwich with some tomato basil soup! It was delicious!

We had a blast just visiting and enjoying the weather! 

During the day I got wonderful phone calls from my nieces, text messages from friends and family and a bunch of Facebook birthday wishes through out the day! I felt so loved! 

Later that night Brad and I went to our Favorite Restaurant BJ's. (Thank you mom for the Gift Card!!) 

These are our favorite! Avocado Egg rolls! They are SO delicious!!    

For dinner I had a deep dish personal pizza and Brad had shrimp tacos. 

And you can't forget the birthday pizookie! :)  

Brad also got me these beautiful roses, made me my favorite fun fetti birthday cake, and bought me my favorite Moose Track Ice Cream!! 

I think I can say I was definitely SPOILED!!! Thank you everyone for making my day so special!! 

A few days ago RandiSue Luchau, a lady from church brought over all of these adorable baby clothes for Aubrey! It was so sweet of her to bring them over! She has 4 girls of her own so she definitely has the collection. We have been so blessed to receive all of these! Thank you RandiSue! 

Baby Aubrey at 26.5 Weeks! She is a growing girl!! 

 Brad and I have tried some new places this month! We went to Dewar's which is like a ice cream parlor and candy store. We shared a delicious Milk Shake and tried some old fashioned Taffies. It has been around Bakersfield since 1909 and is very yummy! 

They had this solid Chocolate Santa for $250.00!!

Another place we tried out this month was Moo Creamery! We had delicious burgers, sweet potato fries, and ice cream sundaes. Brad said it was our pre-Thanksgiving appetizer. It definitely stretched our stomachs out! lol

We also had a wonderful Thanksgiving. On the Sunday before we went and had a thanksgiving spread at Becky's house! It was delicious! We also played fun games after dinner! We were laughing so hard I even had to run to use the restroom. My pregnant belly couldn't handle it any longer lol!

Thursday we spent the afternoon at Stacie Dartnell's home. They served tri-tip! It was a Thanksgiving first but also so delicious! It was so kind of the Dartnell's to have us over! We enjoyed the evening with calling our families and relaxing. 

On Black Friday Brad and I went and saw Frozen with movie tickets I got from my in-laws for my Birthday! It was super cute! We had to wait in line for like 45 minutes though to get good seats for the show. Brad was thrilled... not! 

As you can see we had a wonderful month of November. During this month we have also gave our 30 day notice to move out! I can't believe how fast the time has gone by! Christmas is just right around the corner! I can't believe it! 

In the last blog post I have posted what I was thankful for. Brad and I have so much to be thankful for and we know it is all made possible through our Heavenly Father for living righteously. We show our gratitude enough! I hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving and are prepping for the greatest time of the year! We love you all!

Love, 

The Duffy's

P.S. A shout out to Jeremy and McKensie Assmus for reaching their 6 year Anniversary on December 1st! 

 They were married in the Salt Lake Temple

Siblings- At the Reception

And their Cute Family Photo! Quinn is so blessed to have such great parents! Love you guys! Can't wait to see you in a couple of weeks!  

Families Can Be Together Forever!

So I know it has been a few weeks since I have posted on my Blog, but during this time of Thanksgiving I can't help but post about the greatest thing I am Thankful for. 

As many of you know Brad and I are members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. On September 10, 2011 Brad and I made promises or covenants with our Heavenly Father. A covenant is a two way promise with God. Brad and I made the promised that if we are faithful to each other and live the commandments of God then in return we are promised His plan of Happiness and to have our family relationships continue after this life.  This was all made possible when we were sealed together as man and wife for eternity in the Spokane, Washington Temple. 

Brad and I strive to keep these promises/covenants we made on our wedding day by praying and reading scriptures together, attending the temple often to be reminded of all the covenants we have made with our Heavenly Father, and by keeping the commandments and preparing to bring children into this life so we can teach them about Heavenly Father's plan and about our Savior Jesus Christ. 

Because of temples, and because my parents, Ken and Tracy Assmus were sealed and made the same covenants as Brad and I, our family can be together forever. 

(My parents were sealed/married in the Manti, Utah temple on June 6, 1980.)

This is one of the greatest blessings to me, for many of you know on June 17, 2009 my older brother Jon passed away. As long as my parents and family strive to keep our promises we have made, keep the commandments, and live righteously we will see Jon Again! This blessing is what makes me strive to be a better person and what gives me hope each and everyday. 

Today the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has 141 operating temples, 15 are under construction, and 14 have been announced to be built world wide. This is so members from all around the world can enjoy the blessings of the temple, make covenants with our Heavenly Father, do temple work for deceased family members, and have their families sealed to them from eternity. 

One of the newest temples that has been built is in Gilbert, Arizona. This news report talks about the temple and its purpose, and also shares a Families story, like mine, of why temples are so important to them. Please watch and you can even see pictures of what these beautiful temples look like inside. 

Gilbert, Arizona News Report

You can also take a look at what all of the temples look like worldwide on this site. 

LDS Church Temples

Temples and having a eternal marriage and family is what I am thankful for! I love this church and I know it is true. I couldn't imagine my life without it! I hope you all have a wonderful Thanksgiving! 

Love,

The Duffy's

Trip Home to Spokane!

On October 30th I went home to Spokane to visit my family! 

First of all, traveling while pregnant wasn't my favorite! Baby girl wasn't happy with me sitting for so long! And I experienced heartburn for the first time! Luckily I had a stop in Oakland and was able to walk around the plane and stretch a little before the flight to Spokane. My parents picked me up at the airport and it was great to be back. I only wish Brad could have came too!

I was so excited to be home and experience real Fall weather. It has been in the 80's here in Bakersfield and it was great to be home for my favorite season of the year! Gotta love that Fire Bush!

The next morning was Halloween! My mom and I ran errands and enjoyed the day together! 

This was my Halloween Costume!  

We got pedicures! A Mother Daughter tradition! 

And we ran errands for items for my baby shower on Saturday! Everywhere we went I saw someone from High School! While living here in California I never run into anyone I know, because I don't know many people. It was a nice change to see people and visit! 

On Friday while preparing for the shower I had a couple of visitors from my favorite Red Heads! My friend Krista took time from her busy schedule to come over from Cheney to bring a gift for baby Aubrey! (Oh did I mention we have decided on a name? Aubrey Marie Duffy!!) 

Krista and I didn't take a picture together that day but this is the most recent picture of us together. This was in Fall of 2011 when I coached her in Color Guard. We were in Seattle spending the day after a competition in Everett. I have known Krista for years and I am so glad she could come and spend a couple of hours with me! Love you girly! 

Later that evening Sarah Gill came over! Sarah and I were on dance team together when I was a freshman in High School. We then were in Color Guard together and also on Cheer my Junior year. We have kept in touch over the years but it was so great to have her over Friday night! We chatted for hours and caught each other up on our lives! She is doing so well and is now graduated and working at Gonzaga! 

(Again we didn't take a picture, but here is Sarah and I in high school!) 

Late Friday Night the rest of the family arrived! Jeremy, McKensie, Quinn and Morgan drove up from Orem, Utah and Kenny, Jerah, and Zoey flew up from Salt Lake. 

Saturday Morning the girls headed over to the Church for Greenbluff Ward's Super Saturday! We were crafting fools for a few hours and then brought the rest of our projects home since we had to leave early to set up for the shower! 

This was us Sunday Night finishing our projects at home! 

Here are the final results of a few of the projects! 

We had my baby shower at Jane Lahtinen's house. Jane has been a dear friend of our family since we have moved to Spokane. She was so kind to let us to have the shower at her beautiful home! 

Decorations were then put up! I made that banner and the owls. We also made labels to put on the water bottles. Everything turned out super cute! Sadly this is the only picture we have of the shower. We also had delicious food on another table. My mom made chicken salad sandwiches, and we had chips and carrot sticks!

This is a picture of the awesome cake my mom ordered! As you can tell we had an owl theme! The cake was fun fetti inside and it was so delicious!  

Before the guests arrived I was able to get a picture with this cutie!

Quinn was such a great help! She helped me open my gifts and was a great entertainer for everyone who came! I love you Quinn! 

Courtney was also a big help! So glad we got this picture! She just turned 19! I can't believe how grown up she is getting and is now in college at Eastern and on the Pole Vault team!  

I was so spoiled by gifts for Baby Aubrey! She got items from diapers to a pack n play!

Here are a couple of the homemade gifts I received...

This adorable crocheted hat made by Serita!

And this diaper carriage made by Samantha and Andrea

 I had about 35 people there with family, church friends, co-workers, and friends from high school. I realized how blessed I am to have so many people who love and care for me and who could celebrate this exciting time in my life! 

My favorite part of the shower was at the start we had everyone introduce themselves and say something about how long they have known me or a little memory they had with me. I was in tears with some of the comments. It was just such a great experience that I will never forget! 

I wish I could have gotten more pictures, but everything was so busy that it slipped our minds. But a huge thank you to everyone who made it out to my shower! I love you all!

After the shower Tahney and Brynne stopped by! I have known these girls for years and we were great friends our senior year of high school when we were on Cheer together. We chatted for hours and had such a great time! I am so blessed to have such great friends! :) 

Even though my Assmus Relatives couldn't make it up from Denver for my shower, they sent this awesome Car Seat!  Baby Aubrey is definitely going to be set when she comes! 

Sunday we celebrated Zoey's Birthday! She Turned One on October 14th! We had cake and opened presents while she was visiting! She was one Happy Girl! Here are a few of her sweet one year pictures. 

And here is her at her little party! 

She didn't know what to think while we were singing to her! 

She loved all of her gifts from Mimi and Papa! 

Especially these boots! Mainly because she could slide on the table! 

The next morning everyone had to go home! :( Jeremy and his family took off early to drive and Kenny and his family went to the airport at about 1:30 pm. Before they took off I was able to take a picture with Zoey! She didn't want to be held though! lol

A Quick photo shoot before they left for the airport! Notice how all the leaves had now fallen...

Well the next morning, We woke up to SNOW!!!

Crazy how the weather can change in such a short amount of time! 

That evening I was able to make it down to the Spokane Valley and meet up with my wonderful in-laws at Red Robin! It was so great to catch up with them! Love you guys and Don who is taking the photo!

Wednesday Morning I headed to the dentist to have my teeth cleaned, ate lunch with my old co-workers, and headed to Grandma's for her to take me to the Airport! I had such a wonderful trip and saw so many friends and family members! I also saw 3 other dear friends, Claudia Burton, Brianne and Sabrena Schoenburger! The trip was very well needed but it was also very good to get back to California with Brad! I am just so blessed to have so many people in my life who support me! I couldn't thank you all enough! I love you all so much!!