Christmas Memories Old and New

I took Jack to a fun activity called Swim with Santa and we had so much fun. Santa was in his swim trunks and Bermuda shorts and even got in the water with the kids. It reminded me of the two Christmas' I spent in Chile on my mission. Chile's weather is opposite ours and Santa comes riding in on a Surfboard and everyone goes to the beach on Christmas Day. What a special time that was. I remember singing carols in the streets and going to the beach with our Bishop. We were supposed to continue missionary work and keep talking to everyone we met. the little town we lived in Pichilemu blossomed over Christmas vacation (which incidentally was also Summer vacation- what a jip right?). The town of 400 people grew to thousands of tourists and surfers who occupied the thousands of small beach homes during the summer. One of my companions was very scared of talking to people about the gospel (even though she was Chilean and spoke perfect spanish- I should have been the one embarrased of my spanglish). I remember we were supposed to handout 25 handouts a day which usually meant having a charla corta (short chat) with them about gospel principles. I remember we ventured down to the beach on Christmas Eve and as I was stooped down talking to a sun-bather about modern-day prophets, I looked up and saw my companion throwing missionary folletos into the air. Since there were so many people on the beach, the pamplets would float on the wind and float down and land next to someone. I even saw a few people pick them up and open them, but the rest just used them to fan themselves. Needless to say, we had a little chat and I stood next to her for moral support as she practiced approaching total strangers.

Christmas was celebrated at midnight on Christmas Eve. It was kind of like a New Years Countdown, and then everyone would open their presents at midnight. Festivities would carry on until 3 or 4 in the morning following which everyone would go home to bed and sleep all day Christmas Day just to wake up in time for lunch and a siesta. We had special permission to stay up late one year and we celebrated with our Mamita who we were staying with and her family. It was very special and family centered. The next morning, however we had to be on the streets by 10 AM and we wandered around looking for anybody to talk to and didn't see a soul for hours. I can remember the smells of the streets near Santiago, the dust in my Doc Martins and the sights of the flea markets. The fresh veggies and the raw meat that was just carried around town on sticks, the flies, the souvenirs, the fake burned CDs, empanadas, completos, the diesel smell of the crowded noisy buses. But Christmas was different. It wasn't white and there wasn't any snow, but it was still and peaceful, like it should be for Christ's birth.

I think my favorite memory of this year and Jack's fourth christmas will be Rudolph. I sang it for Jack right after Thanksgiving and he quickly picked up on it and would sing it for me as I drove him to school. He memorized all the words and can sing them all without any cues. This christmas season, he has sung it for Grandmas and teachers. He sang it in a microphone at our family parties and then sang it following Cori's concert, although that time he lost his place and transitioned into his own version of "transformers..... more than meets the eye." He asked Santa for a rudolph and here he is listening to his new toy for the first time. I love that he is all concerned that the toy rudolph doesn't finish the song. I also love that he doesn't know any of the echoes except for some times "Ho, Ho, Ho and yipee." He sings it so pure and simple. Of course we have yet to capture a good performance on camera but isn't that what happens? I know this is one of those things I will look back on and miss- the year Jack was so facinated by Rudolph.

Family Christmas Letter (sort of)

I could pretend that I am trying to save trees or stamps or something, but honestly this is just an easier way to do a letter. Without any more ado... here is our list of

Top 10 events from 2008!

1. Gas prices came back down to what we haven't seen since high school- yeahhh!

2. Jack turned 3 with a vengeance and the world will never be the same. There are now 3 major opinions in our house demanding to be counted. (Well, 4 if you count Charlie but he pretty much only expresses his opinions on eating)

3. Becky got a therapist job at a place that would let her work until her water broke and then come back whenever and for however long she wanted.

4. We took an awesome vacation to Disneyland in Feb with Grandma Julie

5. Adam passed his major test (in addition to the test of being in Oklahoma for 12 weeks away from his doting wife) and is now in full swing as an official Air Traffic Control trainee at Salt Lake International.

6. We moved into our new house and have unpacked almost every box. Adam has also learned to install a toilet, build shelves, trim trees, spend lots of $ at Home Depot and many other joys of home ownership.

7. After five years of marriage Adam finally claims that his home theatre is satisfactory (although he still must tweak it every few weeks just in case the acoustics shifted :)

8. Jack started pre-school and is doing great singing, washing his hands, playing and sharing with other kids and he's curious about everything.

9. After 8 months of pull-ups we can proudly say that jack is 50% potty trained. What can we say, we just have no clue what we're doing. But, after our latest movie, Jack says he is ready for Potty Power.

10. Best of all, our family was joined by the great addition of baby Charlie who is a boy despite many store clerks who think he is too pretty to be a boy and have read too much Jack Welland. Charlie was born July 17 in a less traumatic way than Jackson and we love him so much!

Christmas is magical

The other day I was listening to 106.5 the christmas station when I heard, "Where are you Christmas? Why can't I find you?....." I started thinking about it and thought that Christmas is right here right now. This is Jack's first real Christmas. He is excited about Rudolf and Santa Claus and can kind of understand how fun it is to make and give gifts. To give you fair warning, we decided to make most of our presents this year and have had so much fun. Now Jack asks me everyday if we can do a craft. Silly Mommy. Christmas is so magical with Jack this year and he tells me everyday that he wants to go on the Polar Express and when I tell him we don't have tickets, he says, "Just look in your pocket." Jack beleives in magic and it makes the season magical for me. This is one of the great reasons to have kids. I get to relive the magic with Jack. I love Christmas.

Family Christmas Party in matching sweaters. We're so cheesy. Jack sang his first solo in a microphone in front of everybody- Rudolph of course. He didn't even get stage fright- so much for that performance anxiety his music teacher thinks he has just because he won't sing ba ba ba ba into her stick ;)

Jack was a pretty good shepherd watching over baby Jesus. That is until the program went long and he decided to swing on the curtains and trip the wise men. Oh well, so it wasn't the greatest Christmas pageant ever.

Charlie stole the show as baby Jesus. He was perfect, he laughed and smiled when Mary and the angels rubbed there little hands all over him and the best part was that he couldn't roll or crawl away. That really ruins the picture when baby Jesus stands up and walks away.

At his pre-school party, Jack received exactly what he wanted a Transformer. He was almost the last of all the kids and each time the Elf went to call a name, Jack would say, "Oh me me, please pick me." When it was finally his turn Santa thanked him for being so patient and let him shake the Santa bells.

Our family commemorated in Gingerbread Men: Daddy, Mommy, Jack & Charlie- they didn't last too long.

Frosting cookies at Jack's school.

One of our many creations: Jack painted these for his teachers and Grandmas. He squeezed so much paint in each one, a few took over a week to dry.

My Grandma Smith is pretty cool. She has been planningour family party for months and she made all her Granddaughters and Great-grandaughters aprons and gave us all a poem about Grandma's apron. She also made pajama pants for the boys and 2 I-spy quilts, and organized service projects and a future quilt project. She is recovering from a fall a few weeks ago that left her with black eyes, but she looked great to me!

Happy Birthday Adam!!- Top Ten List

Adam's birthday is the 19th of dec. Since we were busy celebrating 2 Christmas parties, we celebrated his birthday this morning. He unwrapped birthday presents wrapped with Christmas paper, we had scrambled eggs, blueberry pancakes and the celebration was made complete with a #3 candle on a plate of brownies. Since Adam's almost 30 now, I figured it was appropriate to have a #3 but no #0 on his brownie. (Adam is totally in denial of being almost 30 which makes it that much more funny.) I do feel a little bad that Adam's birthday is overshadowed by Christmas so here is a
TOP TEN REASONS WHY I LOVE ADAM (there are so many, but here's a sampling.)

1. He wakes up in the middle of the night with Jack or Charlie even though he has to be to work at 6:30 AM. (I say that one should count double)

2. He is a passionate person. He LOVES the things he loves...airplanes, speakers, home theatre stuff, tools, etc.

3. He recognizes that his family is the most important thing and cherishes snuggle time and holding Charlie time.

4. He just finished working so hard and Aced his big test for the Air Traffic Control program. Way to go!

5. He's a great Bass and can sing classical and fun pieces.

6. He's an awesome dancer and will let me do waltz jumps and tango twisties whenever I want, (even in the kitchen).

7. He is a very unselfish person. Financially, he makes sure everyone else has their needs and wants met before asking for what he wants.

8. He has skills on ebay and guitar hero. And he whips me every time in Wii tennis.

9. He can fix anything. As a new home owner I am really appreciating the fact that we don't have to call in plumers or electricians. What a blessing to have sucha great Handiman- Handi-Adam.

10. He takes care of things that I don't ever think about. Like fuel filters, ice melt, checking my oil, making sure our swamp cooler works, and rotating my tires.

I am so greatful for Adam- he is a HUGE blessing in our family.

In honor of my dear friend Mandy who is celebrating her first Christmas in Alaska where it's very Yukiyuk outside

I am grateful for Music

I've been touched by two special experiences this weekend. On Friday night, we went to our annual Forgotten Carols performance with Pumpkin and Jon. We try and go every year and Pumpkin and I have a random habit of telling each other special information- (like that I was pregnant last year- and three years before that) while we're waiting in the restroom line. What a difference a year makes. Who would have thought that this year we'd both have our wishes of healthy beautiful baby boys. I've been listening to Michael McLean's music for a long time. I remember being in the car with Robby and Laura belting out "Will He ever come?" and "Will He really answer me?" and wishing I was in 4-H so I could measure my life by the song "If only you beleive in yourself" and "Which part is mine?" I have to watch Rigoletto whenever I go to the Cabin and the song "Hold On" inspired me to keep trying to learn Spanish in Chile. I've seen and listened to Forgotten Carols so many times that I could recite the entire thing word for word (even thought they did make some changes 2 years ago) I understand the cheese factor and I don't agree with the shameless DVD plugging that goes on after his show, BUT he has some great songs that touch my soul. Music affects me in ways that no speech or sermon can. When I sing along, I testify and the Holy Ghost bears testimony of the truths that I sing. When i link up with Adam and think about our children I KNOW that "We will be together forever someday."

Each year something different touches me. Last year Pumpkin and I bawled when we heard Sara singing about being a Mother even though she couldn't have children of her own. This year I still teared up but out of joy for my friend. Lately I've become an expert at lip reading. So many of my patients have tracheotomies and can only mouth words. There was a part at the end of The Carols where Uncle Jon was sitting with Connie Lou while the wise man is singing, " I cannot find my way." He explained to her (as I lip read- I was expecting to see him saying watermelon watermelon because that's what they do in community theatre;) but he explained about the star ornament that it had 4 points leading towards Christ in the middle. One for each of the three wise men and one for her. For the first time i saw that song as a kind of conversion song where Connie Lou was not only brought to love Christmas but converted to Christ. "There are so many voices, so many different choices, we need to find our way back home." This year more than others I feel like there are so many choices and things fighting for my attention- I want to keep my focus on what's really important.

Saturday night I performed in a Latin American choir for La Presentacion Navidenia: Recibid al Rey. I haven't been the most dedicated person to this choir, but I am so glad I participated. We sang in the tabernacle and sang with children's choirs, musicians and dancers to put on quite the celebration. The whole place was packed and they recorded it for future broadcasts and I imagined all those Latinos, like my friends in Chile, who will think it is so neat that there are so many strong LDS people here. I thought it was neat how none of the children had Spanish accents, but they sing and dance and remember their heritage. What a legacy those families are establishing. When it was all over, after everyone had started to leave, Elder Scott (who incidentally still speaks perfect Spanish and is South America's favorite apostle) came up and spoke to the choir. We sang, "We thank thee Oh God for a prophet" and the spirit was strong. He left an apostolic blessing over all the participants and instantly a feeling came over us that this was important and very special. He blessed us and our families and encouraged us to remain faithful, strong, and to always pay tithing. Afterwards he stuck around to shake hands and take pictures with people and I even saw many of the women kissing him on the cheek- what a very patient and loving man.

I am so grateful for music in my life and the joy and experiences it brings me.

"All I ever wanted, all I ever dreamed of, everything I 'd hoped and all the things I'd prayed for couldn't hold a candle to what I've been given, I've been given what I need."

Jack's back

I am so happy tonight because I think I've figured out what was wrong with Jack all these weeks. I took both him and Charlie to a doctors apointment on monday and the doctor ended up perscribing them both amoxicillan. She said that Charlie might have the start of an ear infection and Jack a sinus infection. I'm not one to jump on antibiotics, but I thought I was willing to try anything to get my old Jack back. Today for the first time, he didn't cry when I dropped him off for daycare, he was happy and talkative, he didn't scream into fits over nothing and he sang Rudolf with me without even changing the words to potty words. Maybe it's a fluke day, but I hope he's feeling better and his Real Cute personality is coming back.

Things you might not know about me

To participate just copy and paste in your own blog, and bold all of the things you have done. Happy discoveries!
1. Started your own blog
2. Slept under the stars
3. Played in a band
4. Visited Hawaii (I WISH)
5. Watched a meteor shower
6. Given more than you can afford to charity (always results in blessings)
7. Been to Disneyland
8. Climbed a mountain
9. Held a praying mantis
10. Sang a solo
11. Bungee jumped
12. Visited Paris
13. Watched a lightning storm at sea
14. Taught yourself an art from scratch
15. Adopted a child
16. Had food poisoning
17. Walked to the top of the Statue of Liberty ( I've been there several times but the top's been closed)
18. Grown your own vegetables
19. Seen the Mona Lisa in France
20. Slept on an overnight train
21. Had a pillow fight
22. Hitch hiked
23. Taken a sick day when you’re not ill
24. Built a snow fort
25. Held a lamb
26. Gone skinny dipping
27. Ran a marathon (On this years to-do list)
28. Ridden in a gondola in Venice
29. Seen a total eclipse
30. Watched a sunrise or sunset
31. Hit a home run
32. Been on a cruise
33. Seen Niagara Falls in person
34. Visited the birthplace of your ancestors
35. Seen an Amish community
36. Taught yourself a new language
37. Had enough money to be truly satisfied
38. Seen the Leaning Tower of Pisa in person
39. Gone rock climbing
40. Seen Michelangelo’s David
41. Sung karaoke
42. Seen Old Faithful geyser erupt
43. Bought a stranger a meal at a restaurant
44. Visited Africa
45. Walked on a beach by moonlight
46. Been transported in an ambulance
47. Had your portrait painted (only if you count street paintors in NY)
48. Gone deep sea fishing
49. Seen the Sistine Chapel in person
50. Been to the top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris
51. Gone scuba diving or snorkeling
52. Kissed in the rain
53. Played in the mud
54. Gone to a drive-in theater
55. Been in a movie (Only if Youtube counts, well and a work movie)
56. Visited the Great Wall of China
57. Started a business
58. Taken a martial arts class
59. Visited Russia
60. Served at a soup kitchen
61. Sold Girl Scout Cookies
62. Gone whale watching
63. Got flowers for no reason
64. Donated blood, platelets or plasma
65. Gone sky diving
66. Visited a Nazi Concentration Camp (Just the Holocaust museum in DC)
67. Bounced a check
68. Flown in a helicopter (And my husband's 2-seater SLCC airplane)
69. Saved a favorite childhood toy
70. Visited the Lincoln Memorial
71. Eaten Caviar
72. Pieced a quilt
73. Stood in Times Square
74. Toured the Everglades
75. Been fired from a job
76. Seen the Changing of the Guards in London
77. Broken a bone
78. Been on a speeding motorcycle
79. Seen the Grand Canyon in person
80. Published a book
81. Visited the Vatican
82. Bought a brand new car
83. Walked in Jerusalem
84. Had your picture in the newspaper
85. Read the entire Bible (except for Numbers:)
86. Visited the White House (We stood across the street)
87. Killed and prepared an animal for eating
88. Had chickenpox
89. Saved someone’s life
90. Sat on a jury
91. Met someone famous
92. Joined a book club (very short lived)
93. Lost a loved one
94. Had a baby
95. Seen the Alamo in person
96. Swam in the Great Salt Lake
97. Been involved in a law suit
98. Owned a cell phone
99. Been stung by a bee

Shopping/ Shoplifting with a three-year old

I needed one of these new shopping carts that have t.v.s in them


After an exciting morning of peeing on the carpet and locking himself in the car, Jack got a quarter for using the potty (hey now, don't judge, I'm getting frustrated and money motivates him, well, gumball machines motivate him). We were heading to the gumball store when Jack pooped his pants. The store had no changing table and no wipes but we did our best... gross. Since Charlie was in the front of the cart, I put Jack in the main cart but couldn't see him very well because of charlie. Here's what the poor grocery people had to deal with and what it must have sounded like to Jack.

Jack: Mommers (his name for when he likes me, as opposed to Mom when he doesn't) I wanna eat a cucumber.
Becky: No, I'm not in the mood for cucumbers, lets get celery instead.
J: but Why??
B: because they're yummy for our tummy.
B: Don't bite the apples. Hey you bit every one... now they're no good. No one wants to eat your germs.
J: what's a germ?
B: a bug
J: No one wants my bugs because I'm sick, I need medicine....bla bla blaa...
a little while later-
B: Jack are you eating the onions? Where's the rest of it?....(points to mouth).. gross, take it out, no don't put it back in the bag, just set it in the cart.
B: Don't step on the celery!

J; I want eggs Mommy! I wanna hold em.
B: O.k. but you have to be very careful and not open them.
(After a second he took some eggs out and began caressing them.)
B: Hey now, put it back, close up the box, you need to be very careful with eggs..... are you being careful? Close the lids...
(internal dialogue: Now why do they say something has Acai berries if it doesn't, it only has black currant berries... that's weird and misleading... which beans do I need to make green bean casserole.. of course the most expensive... go figure.)
Charlie: Waaaaaaa, waaaaaaa, waaaaaaaa
B: Good thing I packed a bottle... Here you hold it, you're 4 months now, step it up....
B: Jack what have you done? Is that egg on your hands? And running down the cart? And all the way down the aisle? You are in big trouble mister. I told you not to touch the eggs. Sit down! I don't care if it's sticky. You've been throwing eggs out of the cart, and light bulbs! You broke them!
J: You-- I'm mad at you! Grrr! You dumb dumb.... you dum dum
B: Stop that- we don't say mean things like that. Be nice.
J: You dum dum
B: stop- that's it, you've lost your privileges, no more gumballs for you..
J: dum dum dum dum dum
B: Fine you're in time out- stand right there, don't move.
B: (to store clerk) I'm sorry, but you need a clean up on aisle 9- my son broke a whole carton of eggs, and there's still some leaking out of our cart.
B: Jack what's in your mouth?
B: (to store clerk) I guess I'll take this gum he opened.
Store clerk: Are you going to buy these broken eggs?
B: Yes, serves me right for bringing a three-year old shopping.
B: Jack where did you get that apple? Put it back on the clerks table- that's not ours. You have to ask for things and buy them before you eat them.
( I then turned back to deal with the WIC stuff that of course was the wrong brand or size and it wasn't even worth going back through the store to find the right (although unmarked) items.)
B: Jack!! I guess, we'll buy this apple to... I'm sorry...
Store clerk: Have a great day! Would you like help out with that?
B: Would I ever.

Later in the car, Jack says, "Mommers (the positive again) I sorry I loose privages and I sorry I break the eggs. can I get gumball now? and bones?"



I should have watched this first.

The Swimmers and the super-relay

My sister, my brother, and I swam all through our growing up years and into high-school and even a little college. My brother and I used to life guard and teach swim lessons. My sister still teaches swimming lessons almost daily. My Mom swam in college and actually met Dad while teaching swimming lessons at the old Bubble. Some families strive for a family basketball team or the high-achievers: baseball team. Our family always thought it would be fun to have a family relay team, which could consist of my mom, sister, brother and I. Dad doesn't swim, only with jack, and i tried teaching Adam, but he doesn't really like being bossed around by his wife anymore than he already is. My mom hasn't swam for years, but has started out attending practices with the masters team. She and Laura decided that we would do a women's relay team this year at the local swim meet. Laura and I went to a few practices and my Mom re-learned how to dive off the blocks, and WE DID IT!

Here we are finishing our 200 medley relay. Mom recruited the only other person on the team who is older than herself to be our 4th person. Unfortunately for us, rather than average our ages, we had to compete in the youngest persons division (with the 20-25 year-olds...) Mom's friend Pam swam backstroke, my mom swam breastroke, I swam butterfly, and by the time Laura dove in for the freestyle,(see above) all the other teams were already done and she got to do a solo swim. It was a little embarrassing ( I told her afterwards she should have just started waving to the crowd as she swam.) My Mom and Pam are still in the pool because they didn't think they could climb out by themselves even though I think they probably could have.

I swam the 200 breastroke and the 50 breastroke

and attempted to multi-task

It was a fun meet and a good check on our "Someday I'd like to do that" list. Hopefully it will also motivate us to swim even more so we can do more meets.

As for the next generation, Jacks swimming lesson session ended and we will take a break for the holidays at least. Jack did well, but was quite distracted during the lessons (he was constantly going under water and not listening to the teacher. He actually did much better swimming with me and my Dad. he even swam about 10-12 feet the other day. Alex, his teacher won't let him swim to him and is always helping him so he's never seen him swim that far. It possibly may have something to do with the fact that I told his superior not to let my son drown and I sit 4 feet away from the lesson while the little girls parents sit in the bleachers... nah that couldn't be it :)

Here he is using the kick board and arguing with the 6-year old girl over who won...

still arguing....

Don't you just want to eat him up in those cute little goggles??

Did pioneer babies sleep?

We just got home from a fun-filled weekend at the Wade's in Star Valley, WY. We saw cute Madison in her play, Grease, and had some good visits with the in-laws. The four of us shared a room (Jack slept in the closet Harry Potter style) and both Charlie and Jack were up multiple times all three nights that we were there. It was exhausting... On Tuesday morning, Grandma Julie said, "Well, at least they'll probably sleep all the way home and you can get some rest before going into work tomorrow." We hit the road and long story short, Charlie cried for three hours. For the first two hours, we stopped every mile or so and tried to figure out what was wrong with him; we changed his diaper, fed him, changed his clothes, gave him some Tylenol- nothing helped. The only one spared the raw nerves was Jack who was watching Monsters Inc with noise-cancelling headphones. Maybe we should have packed a few pairs. We drove home through Logan (the long way) because we had planned on a special lunch at the Bluebird, so our three hour drive ended up taking seven... needless to say, I was late to work.

Whenever my life is hard I like to think back to the pioneers (or sometimes random villagers in Africa- the ones I saw in a sociology class who birthed babies in the field, slung them on their backs and finished their days work). Sometimes I think about my ancestor pioneers who birthed children on the plains. How did pioneer mommys keep their children happy and quiet for all of those miles. I can't even keep mine quiet for three hours. And when they got hungry, how that must have broke their hearts. When Charlie is hungry he goes from happy to screaming in seconds and I do whatever I can (even pulling over on the side of the highway) to feed him and quiet him again. I used to hear stories about pioneer women giving their own food rations to their children and I always thought that was kind of dumb because if they died, who would care for their children, but now that I've been a Mom for a few years, I understand. I would do whatever I could to feed my children and make them happy- and not just out of the selfless goodness of my heart. If Charlie were hungry his screaming would be unbearable, if Jack were hungry, his whining would be unbearable.

How did those pioneers do it? Were pioneer babies just better behaved? Did they get used to being hungry? Did those three year-olds understand that when Mommy says there's no milk, that means there's no milk? How did the kids sleep or take naps in a wagon or handcart? Are my kids just spoiled? Does anyone have any good ways to make a four-month old nap when he is too tired to fall asleep? My new library book is Ferber's Solve your child's sleep problems. I know my Mom is chuckling thinking I'm finally receiving my due. I've grown up hearing stories about how my parents had to drive me around the neighborhood at all hours of the night to get me to go to sleep. By the way, thanks for doing that Mom and Dad.

3-year-old insults

So Jack Jack is experimenting with a new emotion: anger. Since Adam and I are the center of his world, we tend to be the center of his anger. (Well, technically He is the only center of his world-because after all, he is three). The other day Jack got mad at me and he said (after a brief pause where he was trying to identify his emotions and think of something to describe his feelings) he said, "Mommy, you do poopies in your diaper, not in the potty, that makes me mad." I guess that tells you what I've been getting mad over these last few months...

If we're playing with my sister or sitting with Madison, Jack will start giggling and then say, "You guys are girls... You're all girls!" ooooh, that one hurts :)

The best was the other night when Adam turned Jack's transformer Bumblebee off and he was so mad at him, the drama king said, "My bumblebee, he never talk to me again!!! Daddy.... you....you.... peanut butter... peanut butter and jelly.. and I eat you!!! num num num"

It was so funny, and we both tried not to laugh as Adam attempted to calm Jack down and convince him that Bumblebee would talk when the sun comes back up.

I am just really glad that we don't swear or use bad language at our house or we might be hearing worse insults than just peanut butter and jelly.

In Honor of Pumpkin- She's coming home today!

This post is to honor one of my best friends who I call Pumpkin. She took these pictures of Charlie and has been such a great supportive friend even when my happiness of being pregnant and having Charlie only reminded her of her trials with infertility. I was so excited for her when she found out (last month) that there was a possible birth mother waiting for her. She and her husband have been married for 7 years and are one of the most devoted, loving, funny couples that I know. Pumpkin loves her nieces and nephews and her friends' children unconditionally. I know it must have been hard on her because she has mentioned feeling like everyone around her was pregnant, even some teenagers who didn't really want to be. Pumpkin is flying home today with her brand new baby boy and I couldn't be happier for her. It makes me giddy inside and I just think about it and smile. She is going to be the best Mommy ever! Pumpkin has been so respectful and positive about her birth mothers circumstances, thinking of small thoughtful gifts and ways to show her love and support that would never have occurred to me. Pumpkin, you are so on-top of things. You are such a great example to me. Thank you!

It's so fun that your baby will have an October birthday, since, after all, it is your month- the month of the pumpkin. I'll look forward to lots of fun pumpkin-themed birthday parties...

Pumpkin and blurry-faced Charlie

I LOVE YOU GUYS!

Halloween Costumes

Charlie and Daddy: The Pirate Kings

Jack didn't want to be in this picture so we climbed under the table with him.

These were our costumes for Laura's Officers Hollow party at the UofU and then we went to my parents ward's trunk or treat. I threw them together that morning; sometimes those are the best costumes, the ones you throw together last minute. It was so fun to see old faces and have other "kids" my age come back with their families.

Jack Jack and Charlie are the Incredible brothers

Flexing our muscles as the Incredible Family on Halloween. We had lots of fun visiting and Jack LOVED the dressing up part and the handing out candy and glow-sticks part. We trick or treated at the Care Center I work at and they ran out of candy, so Jack would give back his candy to the residents who would then give it back to him. He loved it, but then when he started giving back candy in our neighborhood, our neighbors thought he was weird. We all wanted to trick or treat together, so we went around our "horseshoe" and gave glowsticks to everyone we met-it was fun, won't give kids cavities and made our neighborhood a safer place- just like the Incredibles should :). I think it's so fun to dress up on Halloween and I don't mind suffering from a 2-week sugar overdose either...

As a side note, does anyone else feel like sometimes it is so much work to create happy memories and get ready to have fun that you run our of time and energy to enjoy that fun? That kind of happened on Halloween; I had my plan, things happened to alter that plan and then we ended up rushing around with no dinner in a less than happy state trying to "have fun" and "make memories." Halloween is weird because it's alot of work and anticipation for something that's very short. It starts at 6:00 and for us, ends at an extended bedtime of 8:30 or 9:00. Three hours to visit everyone, show off the cute munchkins, and do the whole trick or treating thing. I guess it's good that more of the Halloween activities are happening before the actual day of Halloween.

Jack's Prized Pumpkin and Jack'O'Lantern

One of my favorite memories from my childhood was a year where we kids participated in the garden. My mom split the garden into three parts and each kid got to plant whatever we wanted. We took radish seeds (since they grow the fastest) and planted them in the shape of our initials to label our plot. We were responsible for weeding and maintaining our garden. I remember I wanted to grow corn and peas and carrots. Everything grew well except for the carrots because in order to see if they were ready to be pulled, you had to pull one out so that by harvest time there were no carrots left to pull. We got special seeds from J&L that were to grow big pumpkins and we were entered in a contest for that fall. We each one a ribbon and my brother Robby won a little squirrel lawn gnome that still resides in my parents backyard, in the corner with the other tacky animal statues. Laura says its a part of our family because it's been there as long as she remembers. Anyway, I always wanted to participate in this tradition with my own children.

This year, Jack got a seed from Grandma Mushy and planted it in a little cup, way back in March or so. He stared at that dirt for 2 days waiting for it to sprout. Luckily it sprouted quickly and grew into a large plant. He named his pumpkin "Max." Jack would check on Max in the greenhouse every day and he compared it to my belly saying, "Baby brother is growing bigger bigger like my pumpkin." My parents went out of town for a few days and while they were gone, Jacks pumpkin died, but my Mom quickly replaced it and we all figured that what he doesn't know couldn't hurt him. We transplanted the pumpkin to our yard and Jack and I watered it every other day all summer long. It ended up growing two big pumpkins.

(Max weighed in at 52 pounds and 8th place)

We took the larger looking one down to J&L and entered it in the Great Pumpkin Contest. It was free and we thought Jack would have fun. He didn't quite understand though, so when I put his pumpkin down and the put a pin in it with his name on it and then we had to leave it, he started throwing a major fit. He cried and said he didn't want to leave his pumpkin. Embarrassing for me since I was trying to tell the J&L people, "Oh, yeah, this is his pumpkin and he totally wants to do this contest." I lost my keys and wandered around the parking lot for a half hour with him screaming that he wanted his pumpkin back. Every day he wanted to visit his pumpkin, but I was afraid of a repeat tantrum when we had to leave it, so we waited until the contest was over and we went to pick up Max. The only other pumpkins that were there were 2 grown by our neighbor, one that won the state record at 11 hundred pounds or something crazy like that, and one nearly that big grown by J&L. Jack's pumpkin had weighed in at 51 pounds and was given an 8th place ribbon. I doubt there was more than 8 pumpkins entered. I hadn't realized they would be judged on weight alone, I thought maybe Jack would win for "prettiest pumpkin" or "youngest pumpkin grower." The J&L people were very nice though, we won a drip system for watering pumpkins (or flower boxes) and a $10 gift certificate- pretty good for a free contest, even if it's not a squirrel gnome. Jack was happy with his pink ribbon and even consented to let us carve it into his JackO'lantern.

Michael Phelps stinks!

It all started a few weeks ago when my sister Laura came to stay with us for a few days while Adam was working a lot. Whenever I play with Laura, I have lots of fun and sometimes crazy things happen like painting new art for my wall, crazy expensive pedicures (we didn't realize they were charging per toe...), painting her dining set to resemble Cafe Rio chairs-that one turned out really cute. Anyway, we went to Petco in Sugarhouse to watch her roommate Summer's little hamster compete in the Hamster Olympics. She was actually grateful that we showed up with Jack so that she wasn't the only college student beating out a bunch of nine-year-olds for a little plastic trophy. We had so much fun cheering her hamster, named Michael Phelps, who ended up taking first place and winning his own hampster race track.

Summer and Laura told me that Jack absolutely needed a hamster of his own and that it would be so easy to take care of and Jack would learn responsibility... bla..blabbidy..bla..bla..bla... So I bought a cage, a miniature hamster, and some recycled fluff stuff for bedding. On our way home I texted Adam and asked how he felt about very small animals and he wrote back, "I hate them why??" We brought our hamster home and surprised him and, like the great Daddy that he is, he was an excellent sport.

When I asked Jack what our hamster should be named he said, "Michael Phelps." Since our hamster is a she, we tried to talk him into more appropriate names like Ginger, Suzie, Gidget, or Janet Evans but he wouldn't hear of it. So our hamster is Michael Phelps too, and I don't think that she minds all that much. In my mommy heart, I had envisioned that we would all hold our little hamster and he would crawl up our arms and we would hand feed him carrots, raisins, and apples, but it seems that our Michael Phelps thinks that anything that enters his cage is edible and must be nibbled- especially fingers. So that combined with the storekeeper putting Michael Phelps in Jack's hands and him getting scratched has made Jack terrified of Michael Phelps. Adam has been bit and now will only pick him up with a dish towel. I am trying to train him to go into his ball on his own so he can run and we can clean his cage. I hate cage cleaning! Summer said she cleans hers once a week, but Michael Phelps poops a lot! We call his wheel the "poop flinger." His whole corner of the room stinks and since Adam is claiming immunity because getting a hamster was not his idea, I get to clean it several times a week. Just what I needed, one more thing to take care of. What happened to my visions of a loving pet family? Maybe we are just not ready for pets- after all, before we had children, we practiced on fish and had a 75% mortality rate. Speaking of fish, you really need to read my sister Laura's narration on our other Petco purchase that day: Feeder Fish.

(Just for clarification, I don't think the real Michael Phelps stinks, I think he is an amazing athlete with big flipper feet,

and since we wanted our hamster to take the GOLD and be speedy speedy, we figured it a suitable name)

New reasons to blog

I have increased my blogging this month for two reasons:

1. I found out you can turn your blog into a book using sites like blurb which is way cool, because that was holding me back. I thought that if I was going to spend time writing about events and posting pictures, then I should scrapbook so I'd have a hard copy. By blogging about it and printing it into a book, I will be able to do way more journaling, and it will be like a journal and a scrapbook (both of which I have struggled to do regularly). So that is very motivating to me- and SO much easier than getting all the scrapbook stuff out.

2. My friends from my old ward in Bountiful found me and I started reading their blogs and found out about posting links as blogs rather than links, and then you can list what time friends post and the name of their post, which lets me see at a glance, who has something new to say, rather than randomly checking for updates. It also tells me the title of their post and i can guess if it's something that looks interesting to me... ;) I've been surprised how many people update almost daily and I've found that there really is something to say every day (like a journal) and it's just too addicting to find out all this fun stuff about my friends and family. (And I want to keep myself near the top so that's more motivation to keep posting).

So yeah, Adam says I'm addicted to blogging now, and maybe it's just a trend, but I'm having fun and for a semi-stay at home Mom, it helps me feel connected.

7 interesting things

#7 I like the Hannah Montana sitcoms- embarrassing but true. I think they are funny.

#6 About dating Adam: I don't consider our first two dates as dates because at the time my friend was "in-like" with Adam and I didn't want to hurt my friend. But, he ended up telling my friend that he wasn't ready to date anyone seriously, just to end up proposing to me five months later... :)

#5 On our first non-date-outing thing, Adam took me skiing and on our way to the lift for our first run, Adam ducked under a rail in his florescent 80's style snow-pants (he's from park City and doesn't like to look like a tourist, or apparently like he is from this decade.) As he was ducking under the rail, his pants totally split out! He asked the guy behind the counter if he had any duct tape which the guy handed to me saying he wasn't going there. So there I was on a first date-ish up close and personal taping up my dates behind...

#4 Epidurals hate me, which I didn't realize until my second child two months ago. Jackson was born via emergency c-section and was the worse pain I've ever felt in my life. As a therapist I ask people to label their pain on a scale of 1-10 and often wondered what was the worst pain I had ever felt. As they were cutting me open, the only thing going through my head was, "THIS IS A TEN!!!" With Charlie, I had a V-BAC and had more notice. One epidural failed and barely made my foot tingle and they gave me a second epidural which took all the meds they had and only lasted for about 45 minutes before it wore off and I felt everything again. So next time, I think I'll just do it natural and save my sanity.

#3 I love the color green and every time I buy a new shirt, it is either green or I have to go out of my comfort zone to specifically buy a non-green shirt. Actually this year, I've bought 3 orange shirts- maybe orange is this years green.

#2 I hate being home all day, I get cabin fever easily and just need to get out of my house!!

#1 I love Broadway musicals and try and go to New York at least every other year to catch what new shows are out. I can't listen to them without singing as loud as I can. My cell phone ring is "You can't stop the beat" from Hairspray. I've done shows at Rogers theatre but I've never been the star- that's on my to-do list, someday I'll find my perfect part.

I tag Jen F., Eileen S., Juliann, Sara, Cori, Carrie, and Moo

Pumpkin's Coming Home

This post is to honor one of my best friends who I call Pumpkin. She took these pictures of Charlie and has been such a great supportive friend even when my happiness of having Charlie only reminded her of her trials with infertility. I was so excited for her when she found out that there was a possible birth mother waiting for her. She and her husband have been married for 7 years and are one of the most devoted, loving, funny couples that I know. Pumpkin loves her nieces and nephews and friends children unconditionally. I know it must have been hard for her because she mentioned feeling like everyone around her was pregnant even some teenagers who didn't really want to be. Pumpkin is flying home today with her brand new baby boy and I couldn't be happier for her. It makes me giddy inside and I just think about it and smile. She is going to be the best Mommy ever! Pumpkin, you have been so respectful and positive about the birth mothers circumstances, thinking of small thoughtful gifts and ways to show her love and support that would have never occurred to me. You are such a good example to me. Thank you!

It's so fun that your baby will have an October birthday, since it is your month- the month of the pumpkin. I'll look forward to lots of fun pumpkin-themed birthday parties...

Pumpkin and blurry-faced Charlie

Onions, Oats, and Baby Powder

So you would think I would have learned my lesson from the blue paint disaster; that when Jack is quiet- it means trouble. I was downstairs with Charlie when jack woke up and I sent him up to use the potty (and he actually went which is rare). I heard him making noise in the bathroom, he called down that he had gone pee pee on the potty and then I heard him playing in his room. When I came up to check on him, this is what I found:

He had dumped almost an entire container of baby powder all over his legs, his floor, his toys, and his blankets. I just looked at him and asked, "Jack, what in the world made you think that it would be o.k. to make this big a mess?"

He responded with the truthfulness only a three-year old can, "I was making footprints."

These footprints lead from Charlie's changing table into Jack's room. But at least now his room smells baby powder fresh.

Today, Adam and I were in another room working on projects and when we came into the kitchen we found this mess. Jack had opened the food storage and taken the top half of the oats container and put it in the dried onions and the top half of the dried onions and put it on the oats and spilled the other half on the floor and mixed them all together!

(Yes I know that 3 halves is impossible in this context, but this kid can do amazing/impossible things in 5 minutes or less!)

So, does anyone have any ideas of what I can do with onion flavored oats???

I love my Jack, he keeps me on my toes. I love his innocent reasoning behind why he does the things he does. I love how he says, "I sorry I do dat Mommy- I not do dat again." I'm grateful for the things he teaches me. If my life were a beach and all it had were perfectly round particles of sand, with no pebbles to skip or pieces of sticky kelp, sea shells or those sand crabs that leave pock marks scurrying about, it would be pretty boring. Thank heavens I have 3 someones to stir up the sand and bring life to my beach. I'm grateful that Jack is "making footprints" on my life and I pray that I can have a positive impact on those around me and someday look back on where I've been and see my mark, my footprints.

I Voted today! Yea for me! You should too!

I had to vote today as I have been trying to get registered for 2 months now but since I missed the deadline, I had to pre-vote in order to change my address. The other cool thing about voting early is that you can vote anywhere! This is definitely a historical election and one we will all remember for a long time. There is also so much junk out there and mud-slinging it seems so hard to know what is truth. I tried to find out what I could and I carried my large voter information packet with me to the polls. While I scrutinized over my packet, Jack went around the room asking all the court-house employees, What your name is?" Finally, we each walked out wearing our stickers and feeling very patriotic.

Here are some cool sites with interesting info- (thanks John)

Politifact. A site that rates the truthfulness of the claims made by major players in the presidential campaigns and their ads. http://www.politifact.com/

Factcheck. Same idea, with a less exciting interface, but they have an interesting weekly "vidcast," video to summarize the week in politics. http://www.factcheck.org/

VA Joe Candidate Calculator. You answer 22 questions concerning your stance on key political issues, they tell you who you align with. If you don't know where you stand on the issue, click on the question, they will give a very brief summary of it. http://www.vajoe.com/candidate_calculator.html

"We believe that governments were instituted of God for the benefit of man; and that he holds men accountable for their acts in relation to them, both in making laws and administering them, for the good and safety of society. … such as will administer the law in equity and justice should be sought for and upheld by the voice of the people. …” (D&C 134:1, 3.)

D. James Cannon wrote, "There are three reasons why you should vote now and every time: (1) Every vote counts. (2) Every election is important. (3) The Lord has reminded you of your responsibility for “the good and safety of society.”

Know the issues. Discover what is being discussed. See if there are other issues that ought to be included. Don’t consider just one point of view. Learn, consider, pray for guidance. Casting a vote is far more serious than many people realize. Know the candidates. Equally important, know the people around the candidates. Encourage good men and women to enter politics and work to help them. Organize political discussion groups. Help destroy the myth that “politics are dirty.” The fact is: politics are essential. The Lord has stressed that we ought to be concerned and involved in promoting good government. Remember you’ve got to do more than talk about politics. You’ve got to vote and act intelligently."

Tagged- I was tagged by Mandy a few days ago

Some of these tag things are interesting but I don't know about this one (here goes)

10 years ago I ...
1. Moved into an apartment with 5 other girls and started living on my own (aka buying sugar cereal for the first time- because I could)
2. Failed my first chemistry class (failed being a C+ but since it was not an A, it ruined my GPA so I ended up repeating it) It was at 7:30 am and after my gym class- what was I thinking? oh yeah, I was a freshman)
3. I did what I swore I would never do and dated, broke up with and re-dated Mr. wrong (seriously girls, if it doesn't work out it's not gonna)
4. Played water polo for USU and went to Oregon for the first time
5. Drove a CJ5 Jeep with a soft top in 0 degree Logan weather

5 Things on today's "to do" list...(since the days half over, I've already been to work)
I rarely have more than one or two things on my half to list. That's the biggest thing Ive learned after having Jack: Set a goal for getting one or two things done, and everything else is just bonus- then I don't feel bad if I don't get everything done.
1. Go to SDRC and work out, then Jack's swim lessons, then swim with jack and Charlie
2. Take kids to Library Halloween story time
3. Find, buy or make something edible
4. Pump- I got home and Adam had given Charlie a bottle. I hate pumping.
5. put kids in bed and relax by checking my friends blogs. :)

5 things I would do if I were a millionaire...
1. Buy a house with a swimming pool and start investing
2. Travel and do service in 3rd world countries (and pay for Laura to come to)
3. Buy an airplane so we could live somewhere remote and Adam could fly us places to visit with friends and family
4. Go to Europe—heck, live in Europe! (Mandy, aren't we still hopin'?)
5. Set up retirement funds for my parents and education funds for the kids and then take everyone on a cruise (I know that's more than 5 but I have a lot on my someday when we're rich list)

5 places I have lived...
1. Bountiful, Utah
2. Logan, Utah
3. Santiago, Pichilemu, SanBernardo, La Bandera, Chile
4. Burnsville, Minnesota
5. Kaysville, Utah

5 jobs I have had...
1. swimming teacher/ Life Guard (every summer for like 9 years)
2. food cooker, life guard, teacher of mammal studies, astronomy, and archery merit badges and one of seven girls at Bear Lake Boy Scout Camp
3. temp secretary at HK systems
4. waitress at Chevy's (after my mission all I wanted to do was speak Spanish- I tried Chile's for obvious reasons but they weren't hiring)
5. Occupational Therapist

5 things I'm good at
1. Keeping Jack and Charlie alive this long
2. I love water-polo, swimming, volleyball, singing
3. Going to the gym and desiring to wake up early (like training for triathlons)
4. feeding my children (although I sometimes forget to feed myself, well, and sometimes Jack but then he reminds me- o.k. i guess that's not a talent.)
5. I try and do everything which ends up with me being o.k. at a lot of things but not really great at any one thing- but maybe its a talent of mine to juggle a crazy schedule and try and make special memories for my family (and then blog or scrapbook about them so I have proof for the future)

I tag... Laura, Chelsea, Libby, Maricela, and anyone else who reads and wants to do this!