I Suppose...

Hunter is Born!

2011-12-13T14:50:00.001-07:00

Hunter Robert Bartlett Hurray! My baby boy came 3-3½ weeks early on October 19, 2011 at 9:45 AM. He weighed 5 pounds and 11 ounces and they measured you at 20 inches long at the hospital. Come to find out, you were only 18 ¾ inches.

The weekend before you came, dad and I went to a little place owned by a family and boy did it look like it was just owned by a family. It was called Murray Holladay Pizza and Creamery. It was perfect weather.

I also went to a friend’s baby shower on Sat. Her name is Julie Broschinsky. She lives in Arizona so she gave me a shower gift for my shower that was supposed to be the next Saturday.

I went to work Monday and Tuesday of the week you were born. Someone actually at work was saying that you could come at any time and most likely be fine since I was pretty much full term. I said I wanted you to stay in me and keep “cooking” for a little bit longer.

The Night My Water Broke...

Robbie and I went out to the DI to find some vases and glass for a frame we had the night my water broke.

We got into bed at around 10 ish and I laid down and I felt and heard something go POP! I asked Robbie “Did you hear that” and he said “hear what?” and I was dead silent. I thought at first maybe it was just a hard kick from you. The Robbie said “You need to answer me faster than that” he was worried about me since I wasn’t answering. I then said something I don’t recall and then said I had to go to the bathroom. I got up and felt the gush of water coming down as I went to sit on the toilet. I then cried out “Robbie!!!!!!!!” and he came rushing in. I told him my water broke and he saw all the water on the floor and started trying to calm me down as he was rushing getting stuff to put in a bag. See we hadn’t packed yet since you weren’t supposed to come for a while. I had set aside a few things in a pile and that was it.

As I sat on the toilet I was directing Robbie and what to pack and I started to shake uncontrollably. You were finally coming…was I ready to be a mom in less then 24 hours? Were you okay in there with no fluid for you to use to keep you boyant and safe? I still had 3 weeks of stuff to prepare. What about all the things I had to do at work tomorrow? What about the book I needed to return to the library soon. So many silly things entered my mind… I was in shock!

Still sitting on the toilet I called my mom. My mom and dad answered at the same time. My mom was totally shocked and a little scared you were coming this early!

Soon we were out the door and in the car. I was shaking even more as I called my sisters. It was like I was freezing or something because my body and mouth and teeth were shaking.

We Arrived at the Hospital…

And Robbie went to get a wheel chair as I sat in the car. As I moved to get out of the car more fluid was coming out of me.. I couldn’t believe there was still more fluid in there. I was wheeled into labor and delivery and then into my delivery room.

I was in Labor for…

A little less than 12 hours. It was weird though, it didn’t feel like 12 hours. The first few hours were interesting, I could feel the contractions starting to come on. They gave me some meds to get my contractions coming more. My first nurse was a girl from Robbie and my stake growing up and we went to the same high school. She was a year older than me and was a very good nurse. About 2-3 hours in I got my epidural. It was weird at first. I didn’t like the feeling of my legs going numb. But once they were all nice and numb is was great. I couldn’t feel any contractions and I was able to sleep a little. However, I didn’t sleep for long I was too uncomfortable/excited/nervous. So I watched TV all night.

Morning Came…

And you were ready to come on out! My mom and dad came as soon as they could and my dad waited outside of the delivery room while my mom and your dad helped hold my legs with the nurses as I was pushing. I didn’t push for very long and they brought in Dr. Terry.

Your dad told me he could see your head coming out and that made me nervous and I said to not tell me until all of you were all out of me.

One or two more pushes later and you were out! You didn’t cry at first and that was scary.

They plopped you on my belly and you peed all over me. I was crying from joy and Robbie cut your umbilical cord and then they whisked you away to wipe you up, make sure you were well.

When they were cleaning you up my mom, dad, and Robbie noticed your red hair right off the bat. My mom’s first red headed grandchild!! She has been waiting!

What you Looked Like...

You were a tiny little guy since you came so early. You couldn't get enough food so we had to feed you with a bottle.

You had perfect skin and face. You didn’t have any marks from being born! On the back of your head was a red bruise but that was it! You were the perfect baby!

Hair: Dad’s color. Strawberry
Skin: Fair

What people said about you:
“He’s perfect”
“He is a c-section baby, perfect”
“He’s so little!”
“He is beautiful”
“His eyes are his moms and the rest of his face is his dads!”
“He looks like his uncle Erik”

The nurses said you were wonderful in the nursery. I bet you were all the nurses favorite!

36 Weeks

2011-10-13T15:25:00.000-06:00

Also, I keep having braxton hicks, am going to the restroom more during the night and more baby hiccups. I can even hear the baby's heartbeat through a stethoscope now!
My sister also came over and helped organize all the clothes I have been given.

First we sorted the clothes. A good thing to note. If the clothing only has one number as the size always say "up to" in your mind. For example, I have a shirt for the baby that says 3M. That means up to 3 months, so you would put it in the pile that is 0-3.

Here are the following piles my sister and I sorted the clothes into:

Newborn
0-3
3-6
6-9
9-12

First we took all of the newborn and 0-3 and took them off their hangers. These are the clothes you want to wash. Once washed fold these clothes close to the diaper change station you have set up.

Use the hangers from these and take off the little tags that say the size. You will use these hangers for the 3-6 and 6-9 month clothes you don't have hangers for.

Then we hung up the 6-9 and 9-12 clothes. A good idea is to write on a piece of paper the size and folder it over a hanger to separate the clothes.

Now I need to organize my diapers! I really didn't know how many diapers of each size I needed to I decided to make a diaper chart, yes at my work I am an instructional designer so I make things like this all the time...sad but true. Next I will make a hospital packing list and post it as well.

Diaper Chart - Estimate how many diapers of what size you will need! The yellow columns you can input your numbers.

35 Weeks

2011-10-12T19:33:00.002-06:00

My thoughts at 35 weeks pregnant. Apparently I can only think in short sentences now.

My stomach keeps getting bigger. My stretchy shirts aren't quite fitting anymore.
My baby has gotten the hiccups a couple of times!
I also starting to get braxton-hicks contractions, they really hurt! They aren't "painless".
I am starting to not gain much more weight but my measurements seem to be doing good.
Its getting harder to move around and I can feel the baby's every move. What the baby doesn't realize is there is no where to go....I have like no room between by hip bone and my ribs...

This Monday, October 3, Robbie took me up to the mountains for a Candle Light dinner. He cooked salmon, drank sparkling cider and water and for dessert... dunford donuts! My favorite!

Yum!

Thanks Robbie!

Also below is what I look like at 35 weeks. Picture was taken October 6, 2010.

Family/Friend Baby Shower! October 1

2011-10-09T15:34:00.005-06:00

My sisters and mom threw me a wonderful baby shower on Sat October 1st. Nikki (one of my sisters) and her family were able to come down that day from Logan so we planned on it for then.

Below are some pictures of the food and decor that my sisters and mom made and bought. I should have taken pictures of all the stuff I got and the fam, but it was fun to sit and catch up with people. It was so nice to see family and family friends! I got clothes, blankets, and lots of snugly things!

Some of the spread, my sisters were finishing up the rest of it as I was taking pictures. haha

Me being artisic with the photos

My mom bought these delicious cookies that looked like onsies and baby carriages. Cute!

The hanging streamers my sister made

I am totally slouching down in this picture an dlook kinda funky but this is me and my nephew before the shower started :)

32 Weeks

2011-09-20T18:51:00.004-06:00

I am starting to get heart burn a little and now I am taking 2 iron pills!!! Man, with that much iron I need to drink lots of water.

The baby has finally turned head down as well! I don't think my doctor was ever worried about it, but I wanted to make sure the baby is head down! My doctor even let me feel where the baby's head was. I am now to the point where I have to see the doctor every two weeks. Can't believe I am this far along now.

Robbie and I also took a 2 hour Breastfeeding class. It cost $20.00 and we both learned a lot. So much nicer then reading a book about breastfeeding...the books kinda freaked me out!

My friend Jessica also gave me some good tips about birth. Like to make a birthing plan. That way everyone knows what you want and you don't have to be frazzled if you forget to tell your doctor something. So for mine, I am going to put stuff like I want an epidural and I don't want bottles used on the baby unless I decide not to breastfeed (as I learned in a breastfeeding class the baby might get used to the way the bottle has them drink and not the way they drink from mom). You know stuff like that.

Some funny things, the boy inside of me sticks he butt in one place inside my stomach and that spot gets soar sometimes because he is always sitting in that position. haha. Its funny. I also think he has pretty good sleeping patterns too..cause he never wakes me up!

Now I have to figure out what to pack for the hospital. Wow this is a really random post of thoughts....hahah sorry!

Here is a picture of me taken on September 17 at 32 Weeks

Park City September 3-5

2011-09-19T19:11:00.001-06:00

Our family celebrated my Dad's birthday up at a lovely park city cabin house. It was really fun to be with everyone. We went shopping at the outlets and TJ's while the boys and kids went to a lake. The next day the boys went shooting for a while and had fun with their guns. Sunday night we had birthday dinner for my dad and ice cream sundaes. YUM.

It was really nice to spend time with everyone and it went by too fast (as usual!)

BBQ August 25

2011-09-11T10:22:00.000-06:00

We were so glad when the Hall's invited us back up to student housing for a BBQ. We miss hanging out in the middle grass/playground area and just chilling. It was nice because you could pretty much always go out there and find a neighbor to talk to or someone to hang out with. You just can't do that anywhere else!

Baby Update August 24

2011-09-10T18:12:00.001-06:00

So here is what I look like at 29 weeks pregnant. I feel a little cone shaped in the belly!

I am also starting to get nervous about being a mom. Starting to realize the impact of a new life and all that good stuff. It's a lot of responsibility. But I think as with everything, if I take it one day at a time.

Also, Robbie and I have a list of about six names we are going to take to the hospital and then name him when he gets here. We were totally thinking Ethan but since it has been # 2 on the list of boys named in the past two years and then its also been in the top 5 for a few years I am just not sure of it.

Here is our list. Note we have gone through the alphabet up to Nouvela (What the heck kind of name is that anyway?). We should stop being lazy and finish the alphabet. Here are 7 names we like so far:

Adam
Cameron
Eli
Ethan
Hunter
Levi
Nash

Book Club August 23

2011-09-08T18:17:00.002-06:00

My book club friends threw me a surprise baby shower! The theme was Books! I got the most wonderful books. It was fantastic and I felt so lucky to have such a great group of girls to see every month! Also, I met Jade for the first time and she brought me a gift too...how sweet of her. What was really crazy is no one got the same book and I got the best variety ever. Thanks guys, love you all!

O yea, I made them each take a picture with me...haha.

Dasha's husband gave us the banner to hold in the picture. Smarty Pants!

The food was yummy!

Dasha got me 3 books all by the same person who wrote Goodnight Moon.

Hailey wants my kid to be smart and got me really cool color, animal etc books and they look sturdy to withstand slobber!

Jade is super nice and gave me a Dr. Seuss classic.

Marie got me two books with really cool pictures and I am excited to read them. I hear No, David is great!

Nichole got me books with cool pictures too. Can you believe I have never read Where the wild things are?

New Hair! August 20

2011-09-01T19:31:00.000-06:00

So I have been going to instyle.com and to try different hair cuts on my face for quite some time. My sister, Paige, and my Mom have also been hinting at some hair styles to choose. (lots of emails from Paige with pictures of hair with bangs). So I finally just wanted a change and got a hair cut!

I called my friend Ashley Smith Olsen and she fit me in the next week. Phew, I didn't want to wait longer or else I would chicken out or be lame and postpone longer. I had a few pictures to bring and show her but I forgot them at home. O well! I told her approximately what I wanted and she started cutting!

So here is my new hair. Can you dig the bangs!?

Coeur d'Alene Lake Trip August 7-12

2011-08-31T19:41:00.000-06:00

1 week is not a long enough time for a relaxing vacation!

For the Bartlett family vacation this year we went to Coeur d'Alene Lake. It was for Rob's grandma's 80th birthday. Each daughter of Rob's grandma stayed in their own place. We stayed in a beautiful "cabin".

It was so wonderful looking out the window in the morning and feel the lake breeze and see the trees on the hills. I could finally relax! I didn't think about work, bills, furnishing apartment and baby room, filing mail, anything! I also didn't do much but sit, eat, play games, drove the wave runner and sat on the boat.

Here is the view from our room.

We also attempted a puzzle (but we left it where all the kids could get it so it was destroyed) and played card/board games. I even napped in this really comfy chair!

The drive was 12 hours long though and that was really long! Robbie and I stopped at 10,000 Silver Dollars though which is like the largest gift shop in Montana, it was totally lame and awesome. That was fun.

Also here is what I looked like at Week 27.

It was a fun and very relaxing trip. It was so great to have one last vacation before Baby comes!

28 Weeks

2011-08-15T19:16:00.008-06:00

I can feel everything moving and stretching and growing in my belly! Sometimes my whole torso hurts from the growing.

The baby has also found my ribs, yeah! You can even see the baby moving and dancing around in there. It feels like its dancing anyway.

Also, we went to the doctor on August 17th and I had to do my orange drink test for low iron and gestational diabetes. Man they should warn you that the drink may make you nauseous. Once I drank it my head and stomach started hurting.

So they took my blood full of that sugar orange drink and the test and the results came back that I don't have gestational diabetes but I have low iron. So I have to take an over the counter iron supplement.

Some of my younger nephews have been asking me questions about my baby.

First, my nephew Tanner asks how did that baby get in you?! Did you swallow your baby? Did the doctor put the baby in you? Did Robbie put the baby in you? haha, suffice to say it was a funny conversation.

My other nephew, Robbie's sisters kid Jaxson, asked if he could see my baby if he looked down my throat. I told him "no".

I also gained 8 pounds this month. Crazy!

We are trying to get the baby's room ready. Its a slow and un-steady process but hopefully things will come together.

Robbie's Birthday, Logan, Baby Updates

2011-08-04T11:14:00.013-06:00

July 22nd - July 30th
Rob is now officially 27! We celebrated his birthday all weekend by going to some sweet movies in the "big" theaters (big meaning the full priced fancy smancy ones) and going to my doctors appointment. We also did some shopping at Walmart for house stuff.

I got Robbie a pants hanger for his very own closet that he gets now in the new apartment and I also framed up his masi cloths that he has from Fiji (if you remember from the Bachelorette this season hanging up on all the walls were these cloths as decoration, that's what they use them a lot for, so Robbie tells me :) ). Ours are legit though and look great hanging up!

On Sunday we went all the way up to Logan. It was almost a 2 hour drive...that is long! We visited my sister who just moved up there with her family cause her husband got a job up there. It was really fun and we celebrated Robbie, Candice, and my Mom's birthdays.

Monday the 25 Robbie and I went to Cafe de Normandy. Robbie hand't been there before so it was really fun to take him to this italian cafe. They had a deal going on two appetizers, 2 entrees, and 2 desserts...score!!!

Saturday the 30th I went to a sorority reunion. It was really funny, it was like the "old ladies" and the girls who were still in sorority. It was great to see gals there I haven't seen in years!

Baby Update

So, sometimes the baby kicks so hard I think someone is like punching me or something and I stop right in my tracks. It is so weird! Also, he moves around all of the time! Its pretty cute...for now....dun dun dun! Robbie and I are trying to think of baby boys names that rock...so hopefully we will find one.

Week 26 taken: 8/2/2011

Well we are going to be in Idaho all next week (Why do we vacation in Idaho so much?). We are going to Coeur d'Alene Lake in Idaho. And I am so glad I am not working at all next week....phew!!!!!!!!!!!!! It's been too crazy and I am done with being grown up and all the responsibilities that go with it...so a week away will do just the trick!

Camp Williams

2011-07-21T19:05:00.007-06:00

For a "team building" day my fellow co-workers went to Camp Williams and did some rappelling. I was pretty sure pregnant people couldn't do it but they said that they could. So I couldn't pass it up.

First I did the "free fall" rappelling where there is no wall and then I did the one with the wall. The one with the wall was fun cause you can bounce off of it. We then did obstacle courses but I couldn't do much of that so I am glad I did the rappelling wall.

23 Weeks

2011-07-15T17:22:00.010-06:00

So I know its been over a week since the last post and so I thought I should post again!

Baby Update
First, a new picture taken today! Not too much bigger but maybe next picture it will be!
Baby kicks a lot and I am so glad that all nauseousness has gone away!

Baby Shower!

Second, some great girls from my University Student apartments threw me a baby shower! It was so nice. Thanks you Camie and Chelsea for the shower! Also thanks to Jessica H, Shayla, Melody, Mom and sisters, Liz, Jessica R., Becky and Caiti for the gifts! They were amazing!

The shower was so cute, we had ice-cream sundaes, played the "guess whats in the diaper" game and had tons of fun talking!

We also did a thing where you make baby names out of the husband and wife's first names and last name. Here are some that were pretty creative!

Borat (don't think anyone should be named that)
Bently (Not after watching the bachelor...stupid, yet hilarious to watch.)
Barrett
Eton
Oli
Eli
Lee
Lio
Lane

Really though I think we are going to name the baby Ethan. We shall see though...I still have to think more.

Look at all the cute stuff Baby Bartlett got!

Moving Update
I am going to miss the people from student housing. We were there for a long time! 3 years and about 7 months, I can't believe it has been that long.

Moving went well last week, we got everything moved fast and we are grateful for the people who came to help!

Now we have real carpet with actual padding underneath and none cinder block walls!! We can also hang things up in our apartment using nails...can you believe it!?

Now we are still deciding what to keep away in boxes and put into our little storage closet, what to keep out, and what to throw/give away. It is nice to get rid of stuff but it takes a lot of time deciding what to do.

I also went to 1 store last night with Elise and Alice and 4 stores today to find things to organize my apartment a little more and also be decorative at the same time.

So I think in about 2 weeks our apartment will be ready to show people! haha. For those out of towners I will post some pictures too!

Now I think I will go to bed.

22 Weeks

2011-07-03T18:51:00.022-06:00

So I decided I should write more about being pregnant, So here it is.... weeks 0-22!

0 - 7 Weeks
Let me just say the first 8 weeks were easy, I was hungry and really liked goldfish. I bled a little and it was a tad bit scary. I stayed home from work and rested for a couple days. On March 25 (6-7 weeks), we went in to get blood tests and an ultrasound done. Here is what a baby looks like at about 6-7 Weeks. A PAC-MAN!

Picture taken March 25 (6-7 Weeks)

8 - 11 Weeks
That next Monday I found out that my hormones looked good! I also started getting nauseous. We had Costa Vida I think Tuesday night and I couldn't eat much of it and I knew that the "morning sickness" had started. To this day, I haven't had a Costa Vida Pork Salad...just cause it still sounds gross.

On April 22 (11 weeks), we went back for our next doctor's visit. This was suppose to be the "first" doctor's appointment. On your first visit you have an ultrasound. So we had one again. This time you could see arms moving all about! You can see it's little head and stubby arms and legs.

Picture taken April 22 (11 weeks)

12 - 15 Weeks
Still sick. All I want to eat is fruit and cereal. Haven't thrown up at all. Which is really good.

Here are my list of bad stuff that comes with being pregnant around this time (at least for me):

Feeling sick
Nose runs more
Acne (I have never had bad zits but this was getting a little crazy!)
Tired (like sleeping for 10-11 hours tired)
Nothing sounds good to eat
My mind feels like it has melted...haha.

Suffice to say I didn't want to do anything...cook, clean, eat, all I wanted to do was sleep and chill on the couch. :)

By this point I don't think I could fit into most of my jeans without wearing them with out being buttoned up. Though to the outsider, I don't think I look pregnant at all!

Picture taken at 13 Weeks (5/3/2011)

16 - 18 Weeks
We went in for our next month's appointment on May 24 (16 weeks). We did not have an ultrasound (they usually don't do one at this point). We met with the doctor and we listened to the heart beat.

Around May 31 (17 weeks), I could feel the baby move. It was weird at first. A lot of people will try to tell you how it feels at first but to me it just felt like something was inside of you kicking. I guess I don't have much of an imagination or something. By week 17, I feel less nauseous. It mostly just comes and goes by now. Week 18 I felt the baby a few more times.

19 - 22 Weeks

Around June 15 - June 21 (Week 19-20) Robbie could feel it when the baby kicked hard. He loves feeling the baby kick!

On Thursday June 23 (Week 20), we went to the doctor and found out what it was! As previously stated, it was a Boy!

I just started really showing at about 19-20 weeks. Also, we are moving so disregard our messy apartment. :) More to come!

Picture taken at 22 Weeks (7/3/2011)

I suppose I could put up pictures of me being pregnant. The only thing is, I have only taken these pictures! Agh...I will try to take one each month from here on out. Just for you Erin! :)

Post Raisin Bran Cereal Twin

2011-06-29T18:55:00.003-06:00

My 4 year old nephew Tanner went to his mom the other day and told her that Nat was on the cereal box. When our family went over to their house Tanner said "look Nat, its you".

First, my 4 year old nephew has enough focus to look at the back's of cereal boxes and decide one of them is me? Way to go Tanner!

Second, I thought it wouldn't look anything like me but then...I looked at the picture and the only way I knew it wasn't me was the fact that I have never been to six flags or owned those clothes...My 10 year old nephew was thoroughly creeped out by it.

So did I find my twin?

Baby What Are You?!

2011-06-23T09:20:00.000-06:00

Robbie and I have been thinking that our first baby would be a girl, considering I have 5 nephews and only 1 niece on my side and there are four nephews on Robbie's side. So I thought, maybe, we would be the odd one's out and have a girl.

So on June 23rd we went to find out! When we got into the ultrasound room the technician only a few seconds in said "Well its a Boy!" and Robbie and I were like "A Boy?!". She could tell we were very surprised.

I was thinking maybe she saw something wrong because I didn't see the distinguishing feature since she kept moving the ultrasound thingy around and so I was unsure. Then she showed it to us again and I still couldn't tell and then finally I could tell..It is definitely A BOY! We are so excited!

Sunscreen

2011-06-18T10:33:00.000-06:00

So I have heard all over the new lately about Sunscreen and how you can't trust the labels right now for sunscreen.
http://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gif
Basically next year all sunscreen will be labelled correctly. Right now here are some new findings that stuck out to about sunscreen:

1. Sunscreen is NOT water/sweat proof
2. Anything above 30 SPF doesn't give you more protection
3. Apply a golf ball sized sunscreen every 2 hours
4. Check out the link below for sunscreen that will protect UVA AND UVB rays. Both are needed.
(Source: http://abcnews.go.com/GMA/Media/choosing-best-sunscreen/story?id=10779431)

Best Sunscreens List (you do not need to sign up for this site.)

I will be wearing some kick-a sunblock here soon!

19 Weeks

2011-06-17T19:12:00.000-06:00

I haven't posted on my blog for so long. I suppose...part of it is anxiety. I always get anxious on how to organize blogs, journals, scrapbooks, photo albums... It is so overwhelming. The second reason is me being lazy when I get home from work and wasting my time by watching TV. So if anyone has good advice on either of these two reasons let me know!

So I decided to write a post today! I am 19 weeks pregnant and find out what gender the baby is next Thursday. I am very excited.

We also found an apartment! We are moving sometime around July 9th. We will have two bedrooms and real tile floors..yea! Once we move in we will invite everyone over for dessert and games or whatever.

Lastly, Robbie just took his Nursing boards (the NCLEX) on Weds and found out that he passed! Go Robbie!

BSB Concert

2010-04-23T13:29:00.000-06:00

I won BSB tickets off of 97.1 ZHT for the following entry. Enjoy:

Yes it is true, I, Natalie B. have done the following crazy things as a BSB fan:

Gone to Burger King and got the BSB action figures even though I was way too old to play with action figures.
Bought the Burger King sponsored movie 'For the Fans' and loved it...
Tried to convince all NSYNC fans that the Backstreet Boys were far superior and even a couple of weeks ago turned an NSYNC fan into a BSB fan, yes I am 22 and I still do that...
Made sure my little sister grew up loving BSB as much as I did. N
Never had enough money when I was a little girl BSB fan to go to their concerts so me and my friends made our own BSB concerts by learning their dances and singing their songs...go us.
My friends and I memorized lines from the Making of the Music Videos movie the Backstreet Boys came out with....I still remember some lines.... like ... 'Go B-Rock Go B-Rock its your birthday..' ...I know some more but I think you get the drift.
Made my husband watch 'A Night Out with the Backstreet Boys' with me. Sad for him, but true.
Still keep tabs on what they are doing sometimes through the internet...that sounds creepy but its really not.
Bought a Brian Littrell pocket book...
Drew some pretty good pictures of BSB...
Remember knowing everything about them, their shoe size, their favorite foods, now that is a little creepy, but I was like 10...gotta give me a break
Remember a story about how A.J. caught a burglar and think that is pretty awesome.
Still think of how they were such a big part of my childhood and how fun it was to shout their songs with my 2 friends and listened to them when, in my pre-teen sad moments, they would make all my troubles go away.
Still would love to see them in concert and meet them or at least have my little sis meet them to fulfill a childhood dream.
Thanks for reading this! Attached is a picture I drew of Kevin. Don't laugh I was in middle school... :) Okay Okay you can laugh at it ...heck I did.

Racecar

2010-04-12T20:15:00.000-06:00

Not only can the word racecar be spelled the same backwards as forwards, get this, Robbie and I found a toy racecar in our Cheerios one morning. So what did we do? Of course we got it out of the plastic and behold there were stickers to put on the racecar... so what did we do then? Well we put on the stickers like a pair of 5 year olds... here is our finished project.

Have to admit its pretty sweet... this is a little glimpse into the lives of the Bartlett's. Yes, we did in fact even take a picture of it.

Sketch

2010-02-25T20:15:00.000-07:00

My Commercial

2010-02-14T13:25:00.001-07:00

My Commercial is finally live on television. Now I haven't seen it yet on T.V. I hope I will soon.!

Here is a link to it on youtube:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TttAj_HfNPk&feature=related

Check it out!

Today

2010-02-13T18:02:00.000-07:00

Today I went to the funeral of a great family friend and a great example to me, Steve Davis. It was a lovely funeral. I feel like I can't even say much about it because it seemed, in a sense, sacred. Full of love and sadness, joy and pain. I hope I was a comfort to their family at least a little. Its hard when I know my friends are suffering but I don't know what to do to help take some of the pain away or lift up their hearts just a little.

All, I can say is was it was all pretty tiring. I can't image how his family feels right now, how tired and how exhausting this has been for them. All I can think of is how brave and courageous they are.

And lastly I wanted to say something to Steve. Steve, we all love you and hope you are feeling good with being able to walk again and teaching people about the gospel and having some good times with your parents and your daughter. I know I can't wait to see you again and here about what you will have been up to.

- Natalie Bartlett

The Wii

2009-12-27T14:39:00.000-07:00

So Robbie and I got a Wii for Christmas from Rob's parents. It is pretty cool. We will have to get more games for it. Everyone reading this blog is invited to come on over anytime and play the Wii with us!

Commercial Time

2009-12-10T11:20:00.000-07:00

Here are photos from my commercial.

House we filmed at

Taking a break

The whole gang

Baby's Room

Being silly

Stormy and I

Sidways look

Path to my 'Villa' that I stayed at one night. It was bigger then my apartment. Robbie would have loved it. :)

I want that leather jacket so badly!!!

Babysitting the Tempest Boy's

2009-10-31T13:25:00.000-06:00

Last weekend we got to have the Tempest boys come to our apartment and hang out while Nikki and Damon went on a date for Nikki's birthday.

We pulled out our futon so that everyone could fit. Sean took this picture for us.

Here is a good picture of Zach. He was really hyper at one point that night..
Here is a photo of watching Robbie carve the pumpkin. Caden took this picture.
I got a pumpkin seed on my foot! O crap!
Caden, Sean, and Robbie getting the guts out of the pumpkin.

Tribute to My Parents

2009-10-15T16:50:00.001-06:00

To see my tribute to my parents click the link below.

http://share.shutterfly.com/action/welcome?sid=0AbuGLdy1csWTkg

Whats new pussy cat wao wao wao wao wao...

2009-10-13T08:56:00.000-06:00

So, this weekend was really great! Rob and I D.I. a whole bunch of my clothing that I do not wear. I should have taken a picture of how much clothing there was but let me illustrate through words. I had a whole Kohls shopping bag stuffed to the brim (it ended up being about 2 feet high and 2 and a half feet long) and a box full of clothes! That is about 40 tops and maybe 20 bottoms of clothing! Nuts! I had clothes from highschool and even probably junior high.

Also, on Saturday we decorated our front door in the Holloween spirit. We cleaned up the real cobwebs around our door and put up fake ones. I smashed Rob's finger in the door too...oops. Also, on the railing next to our door we put pumpkin wrap around stuff and webs of course.

We went to a art gallery at the Conference Center thanks to Erin and Barrett letting us know about it and going with us :) and it was awesome! So many great painting. Once of my favorite paintings was called 'King of Kings' by Ben McPherson

For More paintings from Ben Mcpherson click this link.http://www.benmcpherson.com/ Check it out!

We also went to Tucci's that night (and it has fed me many meals since via leftovers)..

Sunday we visited my 'second' family the Davis's and brought over their Dad's favorite treats (aka Diet Pepsi and Peanut M&M's) that was really good times too.

That is an update on my goings on-ings. :) Thanks for reading!

My Younger Years

2009-09-29T10:58:00.001-06:00

So, my Dad told us all a story from mine and Paige's childhood on Sunday at dinner and it was really hilarious.

So I guess I would not give Paige a Barbie (this takes place a long time ago, just as a reminder) and Paige went up to my Dad and said 'will you spank Natalie?' and my Dad was like 'why?' and Paige said 'because she will not give me her Barbie' and then my Dad told Paige 'Well you should ask nicely' and then Paige said 'Will you spank Natalie PLEASE?'

Rob's 3rd Painting

2009-09-06T13:23:00.001-06:00

Any version of the word "Funk" makes everything Better

2009-08-31T09:22:00.001-06:00

So I have decided something recently. I decided that anything with the word funk or any variation of that word is amazing. Let me illustrate.

"Play that Funky Music White Boy" - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Qnoh3h6JD8

"Marky Mark and the Funky Bunch" - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bVL3b1wKZQU

"Slam Dunk the Funk" - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TdoVWX3JPeI

What are your favorite songs/anything with the word FUNK in it?

BSB's New Single

2009-08-14T09:10:00.000-06:00

http://www.thebackstreetboys.com/

Check it out...

It is not too terrible ....

My Sister's Wife of the Year Award

2009-08-13T09:00:00.000-06:00

So my sister had a funny experiance so I am giving her the "Wife of the Year Award" that she deserves... :) Read her story below ....

READERS BEWARE -- THE PICTURE BELOW IS KINDA GROSS :)

I think I deserve the wife of the year award, just for today. I am not usually one to take pictures of such a gross thing, but I was pretty proud of myself of my latest accomplishment. The master bathroom sink has been very slow lately. Seeing as how my husband throws up when he has anything to do with plumbing, I thought I would tackle this latest project. (I also wanted it done today!) As I was undoing the pipes under the sink, all this junk came out of them!! Thank heavens I was smart enough to have a bucket under it before I started. Well, if the picture doesn't do it justice, the smell was horrendous!!! And it had a little mint twist to it too!! I have to admit I threw up a little in the back of my throat. I know that a lot of the clog is my fault, being a hairy person, but I am always pretty good about making sure none of my hair goes down the sink when I am blowing it out. Well, Kudos to my dad who cleaned out the sink pipes countless times as I was growing up, with 5 ladies in the house that have tons of hair, you really have to hand it to the guy!! Sorry, I know this is gross, but I just needed to gloat, my kids weren't as proud of me as I know all of you would be!
-Nichole

Odgen Dino Park

2009-07-17T11:39:00.001-06:00

The Dinosaur Park was a very interesting yet fun experiance. Though neither me and Robbie, or our friends Jessica and Tony have kids, yet we ventured to the Dinosaur Park to see tall imatations of dinosaurs. The slides were exceptionally fun. Also, the different "trails" were very mysterious and exciting. (I am being sarcastic about the trails but serious about the slides.) Anyway I recommend the Dino Park to anyone with Kids and if you don't have kids its a fun place to walk around and take lots of pictures...like we did. :)

www.dinosaurpark.org

Ogden Dinosaur Park Cont...

2009-07-17T11:06:00.001-06:00

Duck Duck Goose

2009-07-01T20:13:00.000-06:00

Duck Duck Goose....probably one of the greatest games ever created. I mean you need athleticism, stamina, quick feet... and many other key qualities before you can step into a game. Now you may think that humans over the age of 10 should move on to greater games, however, I must disagree. This delightful game brings out the child in all. I suggest that sometime soon you too should play a riveting game of Duck Duck Goose.

June 3rd, 2009 - My 22nd Birthday

2009-06-16T08:25:00.000-06:00

We went to the Tuscany and had a really good time!
YUM...Robbie's dinner was good!
So was mine!

And then there was none...well there was some..

2009-06-12T08:21:00.000-06:00

Las Vegas..

2009-05-28T18:41:00.000-06:00

More of my list checked off!

2009-05-28T18:18:00.000-06:00

So as I have mentioned in previous posts, I have made a list of things that I want to do in life and specifically this year and I have been trying to do them. This Memorial Day weekend after going out to dinner with old friends, Robbie and I headed to

Saint George and Vegas

I have never been to either of these places in my whole entire life... yes I am serious.... seriously...
That is two more things checked off! For this year I have completed my goals and have gone to Saint George, Vegas, and I will be going to Hawaii.

So here are some pictures :)

That's Robbie Rolling away the gate at the "private" condo.

New Calling...dun dun dun!

2009-05-21T09:50:00.000-06:00

So I just was called to be the relief society pianist. Now considering I have not practiced in five or so years...maybe this is a good thing. Now I could practice if I had a piano or a keyboard, but I do not. So this is a call out to see if anyone has an extra keyboard they do not use that they can lend me or let me have that would be wonderful!

I decided something...

2009-05-06T13:13:00.000-06:00

So I have two really good friends (they might not even know who they are) but they have taught me one important lesson over the past little while.. They have taught me that I need to live my life and go after dreams and goals. These girls have gone after their hopes and found ways to live life to the fullest. They have taught me to not be so tied down by money etc. but just DO. I don't think I have thought about what I REALLY wanted to do since I was like 10. So this year I have had some goals/projects that I want to complete...I will let you all know what I completed at the end of the year but a few things I can check off my list are as follows:

My blog
Making my sisters art blog
Starting to paint
Go to Hawaii (this august!)

I have other goals that I am still rolling over in my head to see how I can do them... But my message is if you want to go do something.... DO IT~ :)

My Sister's Art Blog

2009-05-05T11:27:00.000-06:00

So my older sister is an Artist and computer challenged so I created an art blog for her. Check out her stuff! I will brag about her just a little....she is amazing. I am glad I could make a blog to display all the cool work she has done. Now I haven't posted all of her pictures yet, so check in periodically for new stuff! Also, her email is on the blog so if you want her to paint something for you she is easy to reach.

BLOG: candiceperriart.blogspot.com

Robbie Got into Nursing School!

2009-05-01T12:16:00.000-06:00

As of last week, Robbie has been officially excepted into the University of Utah's Nursing School!
This was our first choice and we can live in student housing for a grand two more years. I find many things great about this situation

1st - Robbie must now become a Utah fan because he will have much loyalty to them from the Nursing program.

2nd - That means he becomes less of a BYU fan...sweet..

3rd - Our kids will know that both of their parents graduated from the University of Utah and thus naturally will want to go there..

4th- It is awesome we got into our first choice!! GO ROBBIE!

Craziness of Life

2009-04-28T15:28:00.000-06:00

If you have ever blowed dried your hair through the car heater while going to the temple because your power was turned off, which you knew was going to happen, but you took a shower anyway...

If you have ever eaten spagetti with melted cheese ontop because you did not want to waste the spagetti, was too lazy to make something else, and your husband took all of the sauce to work.....

If you always have dreams about people chasing you .....

If you have eaten Christmas chocolate that you found in one of your drawers at home in late April.....and thought it tasted really good....

Then you will know what my week has been like :)

Natalie's 2nd Painting

2009-04-17T17:11:00.000-06:00

A Italian Scene from my head. :)

Robbie's 2nd Painting

2009-04-17T17:02:00.000-06:00

FIJI

Robbie's First Painting

2009-04-11T18:37:00.000-06:00

This is Robbie's Acrylic painting :) The lighting is really bad but he has since painted over this one so I have no other picture. Go Robbie~

My First Painting

2009-03-21T10:32:00.000-06:00

This is my first Acrylic painting. Rob and I had fun each painting our own picture. I can't wait to paint more! I hope I get better!

Angels and Demons

2009-03-17T18:50:00.000-06:00

Angels and Demons is a great relaxed read. The writing is simple and the plot is full of excitement. I do not think it would be appropriate under the age 16 to read because of the graphic scenes it portrays. If you have read the Davinci Code things will seem familiar because there are similarities with the plots twists and turns. I give this book a five just because it kept me entertained and it made you think at the end without being dry or boring. Let me know what you think of it, if you loved it or hated it.

Shop-a-phobic

2009-03-10T13:07:00.001-06:00

I would venture to say that I hated shopping. I use to just cry and cry when my mom would be too long in the mall. I was young and only about three-four feet tall. All of the clothing towering over my head and closing me in, devouring me. Not only was I closterphobic, I hated spending money ever since I knew what money was, therefore the mall was a place of terror and hate for me. Shopping was never fun and I hated trying on things. If you read my first post about my flannel pants you would know I did not care what I wore.

Now, fastforward 15 or so years and I work for an online retailer in the clothing department as an Account Manager. Seem a little strange? I am still getting use to all of the Clothing brands and styles...like Gucci and Yves Saint Laurence etc... I do not understand how there could be so many brand names out there...its litterally insane. However, I now enjoy shopping and have a husband that enjoys to shop with me. I also have always been into fashion in the sense that I liked to design clothing and I like all of the artsy fashion shows. I suppose that everyone changes their views on things every once in a while.

Frasier

2009-03-06T14:35:00.000-07:00

I would venture to say, I like watching Fraiser. It is a very dry, witty, snobby show. Anybody who has not seen a full episode, should watch one. Just to see how funny it can be. I mean it is funny and it has heart. Please leave your comments after you have watched an episode of Frasier and let me know what you think by commenting. I suppose I could name a kid Niles or Frasier...that would be interesting...

Sean and Caden's Birthdays'

2009-03-02T18:37:00.001-07:00

They love army things...so they had an army cake!
Baby Zach and me

Cont...

2009-03-02T18:27:00.000-07:00

This is Zach. He is the youngest.

Sean got a bauk-u-gone.....yeah, I have no idea what that means.

Caden also got one of those bauk u gone things...Sam also likes those toys...what are they....I shall never know....they look like round plastic contraptions.

This is Tanner

Erie is in the back seat while Sean is driving...scary combo.

My Plaid Flannel Pants

2009-02-28T12:28:00.000-07:00

I would venture to say, I hated jeans. I hated the sound they made while I was walking and the stiffness made me cringe. So instead of denim I wore...dun dun dun! FLANNEL. Yes, I admit, I had multiple pairs of flannel pants, blue and green plaid ones and red and green plaid ones. They were soft, flowy and perfect. I wore them from Big Cotton Wood canyon to Disneyland. Now maybe this made me strange or geeky, but the cool thing about it was, I did not care. I did not care if it was unfashionable or silly, which it was both and a lot of other things too. I wanted to be comfortable and so I was. Not trying to look a certain way, not wanting to be uncomfortable... a blend of stubbornness and self-esteem that I did not know I had. Now that I look back, I wish I could still, in a way, be like I was. Feel fearless about what people think of me and how they see me. Be free of inhibitions. But I would suppose the flannel was a thing of the past. Though I will not go around wearing red and green flannel with stretchy elastic waist and ankle bands, I will remember what the flannel meant to me. Comfort, self-esteem, and to just be.